Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
by Momoko Harukaze
Summary: Kate: A painfully shy sixteen year old girl with a talent for Capturing. Travelling to Almia in order to become a Ranger, she befriends two students at her school. The three of them-Kate, Keith, and Rhythmi-enjoy a life as Pokemon Rangers and Operator. But unbeknownst to them, an evil force is brewing in Almia in the form of Team Dim Sun-and they're about to get caught up in it.
1. The First Day

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Some of you may know me, some of you may not—but I'm Momoko Harukaze, a former writer for the SOA fandom. I deleted my old story, but I'm now slowly reposting it. I don't think it's very good, but a lot of people seem to be happy it's coming back. I wrote that story when I was eleven. Now I'm fifteen, and I've decided to rewrite the whole thing—starting, of course, with this chapter. This is the newer version, which I will update when I can (I don't have lots of time between theatre, schoolwork, family and friends). **_

_**I was a little hesitant to return since I've seen some examples of plagiarism from my old story (one person even copy-pasted it and posted it as her own). However, I love this fandom, and Kate x Keith gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.**_

_**If anyone is wondering where the cover of this story is from, I drew it myself. You can find more of my art at my artblog, which is linked at my profile.**_

_**Please enjoy my fanfiction, and leave reviews to help me think of ideas or just express your thoughts!**_

* * *

_**Chapter One**_

_**The First Day**_

Ranger Academy.

An elite school for the best of the best, only accessible through endless applications, studying, exams… and she was _here. _

A young girl took a deep breath as she smoothed down the front of her green jacket, then tightened her yellow tie. Her light brown hair was pulled up in two messy, spiked twintails, pale ivory skin flushed red in the cheeks and pale blue eyes flicking around nervously.

"You alright, Miss Lovett?"

The girl jumped. "No!" She yelped. "I mean, yes! I mean…" she gave a sigh of defeat.

"…No," she mumbled. How could she lie to herself? She was arriving at this school over halfway into the year. She didn't know anyone, she was all alone in a foreign country… "I'm terrified," she admitted.

The tall woman beside her gave a small smile. She had auburn hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, a spring green shirt and a white skirt—she gave off an aura of authority, yet gentleness as well.

"Don't worry, Kate," she soothed. "Your class is very accepting, I'm sure you'll fit right in. It's not like they're all from Almia, we have students from anywhere you can imagine—Hoenn, Unova, even all the way up in Sinnoh."

Kate gave a shaky nod. "…O-OK," she gulped. "T-thank you, Ms. April…"

Ms. April smiled and nodded in response. "Attagirl," she said. "Wait here, and I'll introduce you to the class, ok? Just wait for my signal."

Kate nodded, this time far more vigorously.

Ms. April went in the door that led to Kate's future classroom, closing the door quickly behind her so heads couldn't turn in time to see the young girl. The walls were thin, and Kate could hear everything that was being said inside.

"Alright, class, settle down!" Ms. April called. "We have a new student joining our class today."

Immediately, Kate heard several other voices from inside chatter in whispered gossip.

"Who could it be? A girl, or boy?"

"Oh, I hope it's a girl, then there'd be an equal number!"

"Dummy, it's gotta be a boy! A _girl _couldn't make it into this school so late in the year…"

"Oh, just shut up, Keith! Honestly, you're such a bigot…"

"A big _what?_"

"Everyone, quiet!" Ms. April's voice rose over the rest. "Here they are."

Kate reached for the doorknob hesitantly, but then grasped it and turned the knob, opening the door.

Almost immediately, she saw several heads turn to look at her. It was a small class, but varied—there were all sorts of teenagers in there, of various hair, complexion and color. They all looked at her, their eyes shining in curiosity. All but one, that was, as Kate noticed a scruffy head of red-brown hair in the front row facing the board steadily, as if the owner had no interest in looking at her. _'Good,' _she thought, _'less to worry about.'_

Kate started walking down the aisle, trying to make herself look as small as possible. As she moved, she noticed a very beautiful girl looking at her—she had fluffy platinum blonde hair that framed her face, and deep blue eyes that looked like you could swim in them. She even wore a faint sheen makeup, eyeshadow and lip gloss—sixteen years old and Kate had never even thought of it.

Reaching the front of the room, she turned to face the class. Staring at the group, she gulped slightly. The class stared with rapt attention—she felt her knees weaken slightly. In addition, from what she noticed, the person in the front still seemed to be paying her no mind. Deciding to count it as a blessing, since she wasn't sure if she could handle any more gazes she glanced at Ms. April. The teacher gave her an encouraging nod, and Kate finally cleared her throat.

"M-my name is Kate Lovett," she said. "I'm sixteen, a-and I'm from Pacifidlog Town in Hoenn. I-I'm here to study to be a Pokémon Ranger."

And that's when she felt it.

The minute the word _'Ranger' _left her mouth, she felt eyes. Eyes that were staring, penetrating her, _scanning _her. She didn't dare to meet them directly, but she knew they were coming from the redheaded person in the front who had previously ignored her. Gulping, she continued at a faster pace.

"I-I know I've just transferred here, and it's l-late in the year, b-but please take care of me! I-I hope we can be friends!" She finished, bowing with a slight jerk.

The class clapped, and Kate noticed that the lovely blonde was beaming at her. She gave a tentative smile back, not daring to look at the redhead.

Ms. April was smiling. "Good, good," she said happily. "Now then, your seat… Keith? What's with that grin on your face?"

Kate blinked, turning her head to where Ms. April was looking—which, she realized with a shock, was the redhead.

It was a boy, with wild, reddish brown spiky hair, amber eyes, and slightly rosy skin. He was looking at her steadily, as if sizing her up—but despite this seemingly serious action, it was ruined by the fact that he had a _huge_ grin on his face, spreading ear to ear.

The boy—Keith, apparently—didn't answer, so Ms. April just sighed and moved on.

"Alright, alright," she said. "In any case, Kate here scored _very _well on her entrance exam. She's a late arrival, but treat her kindly. Now then, your seat…"

Kate's ears were flushed red from the comment about her exam scores. She was brought out of her embarrassment, however, when Ms. April said, "Ah, there. The seat right next to Keith is open."

Kate's eyes widened. Sitting directly next to someone? Couldn't she just sit in the back? She worked best alone!

But not wanting to disrespect a teacher, she nodded slowly. "O-OK," she said, slowly walking over to the two-person sized desk and setting her bookbag down by her chair. She sat down next to Keith, who was grinning even wider now.

"Alright," Ms. April said, "there's no real lesson scheduled for today, so this will be a study hall hour. Use it to prepare for your Mechanics of the Styler quiz and your oral exam on interviewing citizens… and if anyone is feeling confident about their skills, please take the time out to show Kate around the school."

With that, Ms. April left the room. Immediately, Kate found herself surrounded by her classmates. She quickly felt her throat tighten and her hands nearly lose feeling.

"Hey, you're from Hoenn, right? What's it like there?"

"How did you get in halfway through the year? It's hard enough in the summer!"

"Come hang out with us after school, we're going to get ice cream!"

"So do you have family back in Hoenn or did th—"

"Kate."

Kate looked up quickly at the single call of her name—and saw the lovely blonde from earlier smiling sweetly down at her, hand outstretched.

"I'm feeling alright about my tests, so I thought I'd show you around the school. Is that ok?" she asked.

Kate nodded with an awkward jerk of the head, standing quickly and failing to remember to take the girl's hand. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she just pulled her hand back with a pleasant smile.

Just as the two turned to start out the door, a voice came from behind them.

"Hold it, new girl."

Kate stiffened, turning just a fraction. Her desk neighbor, Keith, was standing now, smirking. He wasn't all that tall—they were about the same height, Keith perhaps having about one centimeter on her.

"Y… y-yes?" Kate managed to say through her utter terror. Maybe it was the hair, but this didn't look like someone she would mix well with.

"How'd you score on the Capture portion of your exam?" He asked.

Kate blinked. "…I… I'm sorry?" she mumbled.

"Come on! Capture portion? Styler, Pikachu, slightly delusional examiner?" Keith demanded. "How long did it take you to capture that Pokémon?"

"Oh!" Kate jumped a bit, stammering. "I-I—u-um—i-it took me… t-ten minutes?"

A beat.

"…Ten… minutes?" Keith said, staring.

"…G… g-give or take," Kate replied, trying not to meet his eyes. "W-why do you—"

"Are you _serious?_" A boy exclaimed, gaping. "The average time is thirty minutes! Plus, Keith's top Capturer of the class, and he took _fifteen _minutes to capture it!"

Keith gave the boy a venomous glare. "Watch it, Ryan," he hissed. Then he looked back at Kate, sizing her up yet again. Kate felt herself shrink under his gaze.

"…Hmph," he finally scoffed. "You're nothing special. Ten minutes? You're either lying, or you got dumb luck."

"Shut your trap, Keith!" the blonde burst out, glaring. "You're just mad because she did better than you!"

Keith glared back. "Shut your trap, Blythe, or I'll do it for you!" he snapped.

The girl scoffed, grabbing Kate's hand. "Come on, Kate," she said, "I need to give you the tour.

Kate gulped, unable to speak from that interaction. "O-ok." She replied shakily.

Once out of the classroom and in the hall, the blonde sighed.

"Sorry about that," she said. "If there's one thing Keith hates, it's when people show him up. He's a capturing prodigy, but his ego is _way _over-inflated."

"Ah—i-it's fine! I-I don't mind…" Kate stammered.

"You _should!_" the blonde huffed. Then she blinked.

"Oh," she said, "I'm sorry. I never even told you my name, did I?"

Kate blinked, realizing the same. Keith had called her Blythe, but…

"I'm Rhythmi Blythe," the girl smiled. "I'm here to become an Operator. I'm from Floaroma Town in Sinnoh. I hope we can be friends."

Kate's eyes widened as she stiffened a bit. "Ah—" she gulped, nodding. "Y-yes! I-I'm Kate Lovett from Pacifidlog Town in H-Hoenn! P-please treat me kindl—"

Rhythmi squeezed Kate's hand, smiling gently.

"…I know," she said calmly. "And I will."

Kate blinked, her hand starting to tense up, but then she slowly let herself relax. She felt a sense of relief spread. Thank Arceus—she'd managed to make a friend, and on the first day, no less!

"Shall we?" Rhythmi smiled.

Kate smiled back. "…Sure!"

* * *

An hour or so later, the girls were relaxing in the library. Rhythmi had shown Kate around the school—from the dormitories where she would be rooming with all the other girls, to the teacher's lounge, where she'd met the principal whose name honestly escaped her despite it only having been ten minutes since she met him. The two girls were now browsing the library, Rhythmi helping Kate find the books she'd need for upcoming tests.

"…And… there," Rhythmi said, handing Kate one last textbook. "I think that's got you set and ready to go."

"T-thank you, Rhythmi!" Kate stammered.

Rhythmi smiled. "No problem."

Kate smiled back, but then seemed to hesitate for a moment. Rhythmi blinked.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Huh—" Kate jumped a bit. "N-no, nothing. It's just… t-that boy I have to sit next to in class…"

"Ah," Rhythmi's eye twitched a bit as she looked over some other books. "That's Keith. Keith Evans, to be precise. He's cocky, jerky, has the ego of an overgroomed Piplup… and he's training to be a Ranger."

Kate blinked. "…The same as me," she murmured.

"Yep." Rhythmi shrugged. "That's why he didn't pay you any mind until he heard what you're studying to become. He's always on the lookout for people to show up… which is why he got annoyed when he heard you shaved five minutes off his record."

"W-what?" Kate gulped. "H-he didn't seem annoyed. H-he told me it was just dumb luck…"

Rhythmi looked at Kate dead in the eye. "…You don't get out much, do you?" she asked.

Kate flushed fiery red as she looked down.

Rhythmi laughed, but then looked far more serious. "Anyway," she said, "you should steer clear of that guy. He's a big, competitive idiot."

Kate gulped a bit, then decided to change the subject. "Should I go meet the teachers in the Capture Building once more?"

The two left the school and walked to the warehouse in front, where the rather overdramatic Mr. Kaplan and the (thankfully) _far _more sane Ms. Claire greeted them, gave them a quick run through of their subjects and what they entailed. It was a brief meeting, and as they exited, Rhythmi sighed heavily as she ran a hand through her thick blonde locks.

"Jeez, that Mr. Kaplan," she muttered. "I'm not sure if he's serious about this whole 'Team School' thing, or if he's just trying to pull our leg."

Kate smiled sheepishly. "He is funny, though," she said tentatively.

Rhythmi smiled back. "Yeah," she admitted, "I guess he—"

"AHHH!"

"Wh—" Rhythmi and Kate looked around for the source of the scream—and they found it, in a slightly stocky woman with short brown hair, wearing a housedress. More alarmingly, though, they saw that she was watching in fear as what Kate counted as nine Bidoof ran rampant through the courtyard.

"Is that Janice?!" Rhythmi said as the girls ran to the woman. "Janice! What happened?"

Janice, who Kate remembered being introduced as the housekeeper of the dorms, looked at the girls, alarm all over her face.

"I-I was feeding the Bidoof," she said, "but when I left to get more food, I returned to find them out of their pen and running all over! I-I could have sworn I closed the gate, b-but-!"

"Don't worry," a voice suddenly rang out from behind them all, "_I'll _handle this."

Kate looked up to see none other than Keith Evans striding over like it was just another day of school.

"Oh, _Arceus,_" Rhythmi hissed. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"What, you got a problem, Blythe?!" he demanded. "In case you don't pay attention in class, you should know that these Bidoof need to be _captured _to get them back in the pen. Which is a _Ranger's _job, correct?"

"You're not a Ranger yet, smart aleck," Rhythmi muttered.

"I'm the closest thing to one!" Keith snapped, whipping out his School Styler. "And do you see any _other _Ranger trainees here?"

Kate was trying her hardest to make like a Kecleon and blend in—honestly, she had no interest in pointing out to Keith that yes, there was another Ranger Trainee there. But of course Rhythmi did.

"That's right!" she said triumphantly, pointing at Kate. "And she's right _here!_"

Keith looked at Kate, snorting. "What," he said, "Ms. Dumb Luck here? I bet she wouldn't even be able to capture one!"

"Oh, you wanna _bet _on that?" Rhythmi replied.

Kate jumped, sensing danger. "U-um—" she started in.

"Making a challenge, Blythe?" Keith demanded.

"You know it, Evans."

"Fine! Cathy Covett and I both go for the Bidoof!"

"R-Rhythmi, p-please don't—"

"At least make an effort to remember your classmates' names, Keith. You're on. And the one who captures the most, wins!"

"What do I get when I win?"

"I-I would _really _prefer t-to not—"

"Loser takes chores. For a _week._"

"Oh ho, I'm gonna love seeing you and Dovett here cleaning the common room, Blythe."

"…U-um…" Kate gulped, realizing she had no control over this situation.

Rhythmi looked at Kate with narrowed eyes. "You are _going_ to win this."

It wasn't a question.

"Come on, Pate Zovett!" Keith called as he rushed into the fray of Bidoof. Kate sighed as she followed.

'_Kate Lovett isn't even that hard to remember,' _she thought mournfully as she took out her School Styler and switched it on.

"CAPTURE ON!"

Both Stylers activated, spinning tops shot out of the machines, bright lines trailing behind them. This was what she was good at, what she loved best—allowing herself to forget what was happening around her, whoever might be watching. It was just her and the Pokémon as she drew the loops with her Styler to convey her feelings of friendship.

Around and around, Kate worked methodically, one Bidoof after the other—she didn't want to risk anything by capturing two Bidoof at once, she hadn't studied that yet. Eventually, with four Bidoof trailing neatly behind her, she saw one last stray on the side.

"Captu—"

"ON!"

Kate jumped, suddenly broken out of her trance as she saw Keith already capturing the Bidoof. She knew that was it, then—it was dangerous and unethical for two Rangers to be capturing the same Pokémon.

Instead, she hit the "complete" button on the side grip of her Styler, the Capture Top once again shooting back inside the machine.

"Capture complete," she murmured. Turning, she bent down at the Bidoof, who were all looking at her with glittering black eyes.

Smiling, she gently stroked their fur as she heard Keith shout "CAPTURE COMPLETE" in the background.

* * *

"…Four, five!"

"…Four."

The Capture over, Kate and Keith were counting their haul. As expected, Keith had caught the higher amount. Rhythmi groaned loudly as she fell to her knees dramatically.

"_No," _she moaned.

Keith grinned widely. "You made the bet, Blythe!" he said gleefully. "I win, which means _you and Hovett _clean the common room in my place for a _week._"

Kate was ignoring them, helping Janice round up the Bidoof to take back to the pen. Janice beamed at Kate.

"Thank you both so much," she said. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Ah—" Kate blushed, holding up her hands in defense. "N-no, it's nothing. Mr. Evans started the whole thing, really."

Janice blinked, then laughed. "_Mr. Evans?_" she said in amusement. "That's something you don't hear a sixteen year old girl say!"

Kate flushed furiously, looking down.

"…I know he's not the most modest boy around," Janice admitted," but he's a good one, even if he can't show it. I should know—I care for the students at this school like my children. Including you."

Kate blinked, but then looked up. She smiled slowly.

"T-thank you, Ms. Janice!" she said.

Janice laughed. "Please," she replied, "just Janice is fine.

Janice left, the nine Bidoof trailing after her in a line. Kate steeled herself, then walked to Keith and Rhythmi, who were still bickering.

"You totally moved in on Kate's last capture!" Rhythmi insisted. "She had that wrapped up and ready to go, but you just jumped it and took it!"

"Finders' keepers!" Keith huffed in reply. "First come, first served! Or did you not pass kindergarten, Blythe?"

"U-um," Kate interjected shyly.

"WHAT?" the two students turned and glared at her. Kate shrunk back for a moment, but spoke in a small voice.

"I-I'm sorry I lost, Rhyth," she said, "but Keith's right. He won fair and square. I'm the one that competed; s-so I'll clean the common room by myself. You don't have to help."

Rhythmi's eyes softened. "Kate…" she murmured.

"No way," Keith stated firmly. "You may have competed, but Blythe made the bet. You didn't even seem willing to do this in the first place. So Blythe at least has to help you."

Kate's eyes widened as she looked at Keith. "…Mr. Evans…" she said.

Keith's jaw dropped. "_Mr. Wha—?"_

He was cut off, however, by Rhythmi. "Well, Keith," she said, a smirk on her face. "You're certainly nice all of a sudden, saying I have to help Kate. Any reason for that?"

"Huh—" Keith's eyes widened as he gaped. "N-NO! W-what the hell are you implying?! I just don't wanna see Blythe getting off scot free!"

"Well, that's too bad, Keith. I'm afraid you'll have to."

"Wh—" everyone turned to see Janice standing by them once again—only this time, she looked much less warm and cuddly. Her arms were crossed, and she was tapping her foot dangerously as she glared at Keith with eyes of venom that only a mother could give.

Keith jumped, gulping. It was as if he… knew what was coming? "Y-yes, Janice?" he said cautiously.

"A student told me something interesting when I was putting the Bidoof away," she said. "He said that while I was gone, the gate was indeed _locked… _until a certain familiar student came and opened it for them."

Rhythmi's jaw dropped. Keith seemed to shrink, looking guiltier than a toddler with his hand caught in the cookie jar.

"YOU LET THE BIDOOF OUT?!" Rhythmi shrieked. Kate jumped at the noise.

"H-hey, I wanted to see Lovett's real potential!" Keith said in a panic. "And I couldn't just wait for those easy training classes! That's not the same as a real-life situation!"

"Well, I hope you're satisfied," Janice cut in, glaring, "because _you'll _be the one cleaning the common room. And not for one, but _two weeks._ And you're denied dinner tonight!"

"…Yes, Janice," Keith sighed.

Janice stormed off, apron fluttering with every stomp. Rhythmi took Kate's hand.

"Come on, Kate," she said, voice ringing with glee, "let's hurry, or we'll miss _dinner… _I'd invite you, Keith, but it looks like you can't join us."

Keith grumbled, his hands in his pockets. "Whatever, Blythe," he muttered.

Kate let herself be dragged away by Rhythmi, walking after her towards the school. She still looked back at Keith, though.

Keith looked up at Kate, their eyes meeting for a second. It was only that, though, a second—as Keith quickly turned away and walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

"God_dammit._"

Keith cursed as he picked up strewn snack bags from under the tables of the common room. Didn't people know to pick up their own damn trash? Grimacing at the mold already sprouting on the garbage, he chucked it into the bin before it could grow legs and run off.

He'd been there _two hours. _Everyone since had long gone to bed, and it was late at night. But of course, Keith was stuck in the common room, cleaning. If this place wasn't "spick and span" by tomorrow ("spick and span" being the highest standard for Janice), then he'd have detention for another two weeks, and he did _not _need that on his record. Or his free time.

As he bent down to lift the sofa cushions so as to purge them of crumbs and uneaten candy, Keith felt a long rumble from his stomach. Groaning, he dropped the sofa cushion, instead flopping back on it.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself, "if Janice wants this place clean so bad, shouldn't she have fed her slave?" he hadn't eaten since that morning's breakfast—he'd skipped lunch to pull a covert operation involving Mr. Kincaid's chair and a thumbtack.

"U-um…" there was the sound of shuffling feet from the stairwell. "M-Mr. Evans?"

Keith's body gave a jolt as he looked with wide eyes at who was visiting him—but he relaxed once he saw who it was. "Yeah?" he grumbled. "What do you want? Come to gloat?"

Kate gulped. Her hands were behind her back, as if she was holding something.

"N-no!" she squeaked. "N-nothing like that! I-I, um… I-I just, that is…"

Keith glared at her. "Spit it out," he demanded.

Kate stiffened, but then slowly pulled out a tray from behind her back. On it was a juice box, some Berries, and even a sandwich and chips. Keith felt his jaw drop.

"…W-wha…" he started, but Kate, for once, beat him to it.

"Y-you've been here for so long," she stammered, "a-and I thought it just wasn't fair! I-I mean, I lost, after all. P-plus, you didn't eat, a-and…"

Keith stared for a few beats, but then quickly coughed, looking away. He sat down on a chair by the table.

"You do realize that snagging food from the kitchens is _against the rules, _right?" he said. "I could report you. You could get in serious trouble."

"But you won't do that, right?" Kate mumbled.

Keith drummed the table with his fingers. "And why not?" he mused. "It'd be good revenge."

"B-because you're starving. And R-Rhythmi told me all about how you thumbtacked Mr. Kincaid's desk. So if you take me down, I-I'm taking you with me."

…Well, shit. She had a point there.

Keith gave a sigh of defeat, pointing at the chair across from him. "Sit," he commanded. Kate followed obediently, setting the tray down in front of him.

The next few minutes were silent, save for Keith's scarfing at his food. Kate watched in silence, hands folded neatly in front of her.

As Keith started in on his Berries, Kate broke the silence. "…But you wouldn't have told on me anyway, right?" she murmured. "E-even if I didn't have dirt on you, and even if you didn't eat the food."

Keith raised an eyebrow, popping a Cheri Berry into his mouth. "And your reasoning for that _is…?_"

"Y-you're not a mean person, Mr. Evans."

A pause, which Keith filled by his choking.

"_Wha—_" he coughed, managing to swallow. He pointed at Kate, glaring venomously. "What the _hell _makes you say that?!"

Kate winced at the swearing, but then stammered. "Y-you didn't let me clean the common room alone when I lost, y-you told Rhythmi she had to help," she said, "a-and Janice said you're a good boy! P-plus, I-I mean…"

Keith drummed his fingers impatiently. "…W-what?" he said.

"…Y-you knew my name all along, right?"

Keith's eyes widened. "…Wha…" he barely managed to say. Kate cut in before he could speak.

"Y-you said my name after Janice yelled about you letting the Bidoof out!" Kate continued. "I-I mean, i-it was my surname! S-so, u-um, maybe I'm wrong… m-maybe it's a fluke, and you don't really know me, but…

"…I-I just don't think you're a bad person, Mr. Evans."

Complete and utter silence filled the room. There was no sound, save for a single Hoothoot crying out in the distance.

Kate began to panic. Did she take this too far? Oh, no, she must have said too much! Now everything was awkward, he must now be thinking she was some kind of freak for talking about him like this. She should have just left as soon as giving him the food, she shouldn't ha—

"Kate Lovett."

Kate looked up, blinking. "W-what?" she stuttered.

Keith was eating his Berries again, not meeting her eyes. His ears were flushed dark red. "…K-Kate Lovett," he repeated. "That's your name, right?"

"…Y…" Kate jumped, nodding vigorously. "Y-yes! I-it is! T… thank you, Mr. Eva—!"

She was cut off by a groan from Keith. "Arceus, you're weird," he said, "calling me "Mr." when I'm the same friggin' age as you. What kind of church school did you come from?"

He thrust out his hand, holding it out with an open palm. Kate looked up in surprise, blinking her pale blue eyes to see amber ones staring firmly back at her.

"The name's Keith Evans," he stated. "And since I got even with you with those Bidoof for breaking my Capture record… I guess we could be friends. _If _you want to, that is. I'm way cooler than Blythe, though."

Kate gaped back. "I-I…"

"…Well?" Keith's eyes narrowed as the red in his ears began to spread to his cheeks. "I don't have all day. Hurry up and make your decision before my hand gets numb."

Kate stared. Then her cheeks flushed pink from ecstasy as she smiled brightly. "Y… yes!" she nodded. "I-it's nice to meet you, Mr. Eva—" a glare. "…K-_Keith._"

She shook his hand, thinking that perhaps her new life at Ranger Academy wouldn't be so terrifying after all.


	2. The Test of Initiation

**Author's Note: Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful, positive reviews! It feels really good to know people haven't forgotten about me. I got some questions, but before answering those I need to make some announcements.**

**I don't know why, but I got a FLOOD of anonymous reviews yesterday and today. They were all wonderful, but some had to be deleted due to being mildly inappropriate. I'm a paranoid person by nature, so I'm worried these were all sent by the same person—I'd like to believe that's not true, though, since all the pennames were different and I don't think anyone has the patience to send a review every three minutes for two hours. (If that's the case, though, then please remember to take some time away from the screen every so often to take a break, eat, and go to the bathroom.)**

**Truthfully, I'd like to disable anonymous reviews, since I've had some nasty experiences with them in the past. However, FanFiction seems to have disabled the ability to do that for some reason. Therefore, I just want to lay down some ground rules for anonymous reviewing (and the story in general):**

**~Please stick to the same penname each time you review so I at least can look at it and say "Hey, I know that guy! That's 'Scary Noodle!'"**

**~DO NOT**** make suggestions for the story. Please, please, please. I want to do this story 100 percent on my own, and I feel like taking other's ideas (even if they're offering) is cheating in a way. Of course, I plan on one day doing a "giveaway" of sorts where the winners get a fanfic or drawing of their choice written by me.**

**~Keep it clean, guys. I came onto this site when I was eleven years old, and I know there are other kids like that reading this. So let's have some consideration and all treat each other nicely.**

**~Please only review to leave your thoughts on the chapter and maybe constructive criticism.**

**~And as for the little kids reading this—I urge you to turn back now OR at least get parental permission to read this. This won't have any "adult themes" in it, but there will be mild cursing. I don't wanna be responsible for scarring anyone for life.**

**And I believe that's it! Anyone who doesn't follow these rules WILL have their reviews deleted. I'm sorry, guys, but I'm the sheriff of this fanfic and I gotta enforce the rules. Now, moving on to questions:**

"_**Why did you delete your old story?" **_**–Well, to put it simply, I was embarrassed. There was bad grammar, unchecked facts, **_**way **_**over the top scenes, etc.. And I knew I could do better. So that's why I'm restarting.**

"_**Who is Kate paired with for this fanfic? Is it Kellyn, Keith, Rhythmi, Isaac, Blake Hall, Murph, Ice, Lavana, or Mr. Kincaid?" **_**–Kate is shipped strictly with Murph in this fanfic. They have captured my heart from the minute I saw them meet. Kate x Murph OTP forever. Also you should never take me seriously. (In other words, read the description—it's Kate x Keith.)**

"_**Will you ever write a lemon for Kate x Keith?" **_**–Um. Haha. Awkward coughing (for those not in the know, a lemon is a fanfic with sexual material in it). I have… considered it? Haha, I've written lemons before, but never published them. I'm a little worried people wouldn't like them and flame me. If I get enough support, maybe I'll write one. Who knows? I just returned to the fandom, guys, cut me some slack. :)**

"_**Will Kellyn be referenced at all in this story?" **_**–Too early to tell! I'm not sure if I want him in the story as a love rival for Keith, a relative of Kate's, a minor character in a filler chapter… In short, I'm still figuring everything out.**

"_**Will you be keeping all the old plot points from your old fanfic?" **_**No. I'm changing a bunch of stuff—the majority of you guys are old readers, so I'm not letting you all be bored.**

"_**Will you do _ in the story? I think it'd be a good idea!" **_**Sorry! I can't use other people's ideas in this story (unless of course, I had the idea first).**

"_**Has _ happened in the story/Will _ happen next?" **_**No spoilers, children. Be patient and read.**

"_**Why is Kate from Hoenn this time? In the game, the player is from Fiore." **_**I'm a rule breaker. Catch me if you can. *puts on sunglasses as a guitar chord plays in the distance***

"_**Is Keith's last name (Evans) a reference to Soul Eater Evans from Soul Eater?" **_**I just want to take a moment to point out that this person's penname was "Keith is epic." God bless you. And no, it's not a reference to Soul Eater—it's just a surname I came up with on the spot and kept. I do love Soul Eater, though!**

"_**What was your favorite SOA moment?" **_**Ahh, this is a toughie. I think it was probably seeing Keith and Rhythmi again when you become a Top Ranger. That hit me right in the feels. Overall, though, it's an amazing game—it's hard to pick just one moment!**

**I BELIEVE that is it for questions. If you have something to ask, go ahead and tweet me—the link to my Twitter is on my profile page. There, I'll post my fanfiction-writing woes, shout outs to fans I think are cool, and maybe, occasionally, rarely, quotes from a chapter that I'm working on. **

**Ok I'm done rambling, and we now return to your regularly scheduled Shadows of Almia—please enjoy Chapter Two!**

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

_**The Test of Initiation**_

It had been exactly one week since Kate had transferred into Ranger Academy, and she had taken the adjustment well. She could now find her classes without having to cling to Rhythmi or Keith, she had caught up with the rest of her class in terms of learning the subjects, and she was used to her schedule of chores.

Classes had just ended, and Kate leaned down to pick up her bookbag as the bell rang. Keith, her former enemy (at least on his side) turned friend, stretched out his arms.

"Yo, Lovett," he said, looking over, "you gonna be studying tonight?"

Kate jumped a bit, looking up. "Ah!" she said. "No, I wasn't planning on it. There's no real test or quiz coming up, so I'll be ok."

Keith nodded. "Right," he muttered, "so we'll do it tonight…"

Kate blinked. "Do what?"

Keith waved her off. "Nothing, nothing." Then he smiled. "Wanna go Capture practice a bit? I hear they set up some new obstacles at the training course."

Kate brightened. "Su—" she started—but she was cut off by a sudden arm around her shoulder.

"Not so fast, hotshot," Rhythmi smirked. "Kate and I are going to get something sweet to eat at the cafeteria. You promised you'd eat that new dessert with me, remember?"

The brunette gasped, covering her mouth. "Oh, you're right!" she said. "I-I completely forgot…"

She looked at Keith nervously. "I-I'm sorry, Keith," she apologized as she stood, "maybe we can do the evening obstacle course tonight?"

Keith's eye twitched.

"No," he said, standing with them. "I'll go with you guys. I was feeling hungry too."

Rhythmi's eyes narrowed. "Oh, are you now?" she asked.

"Yeah, you got a problem, _Blythe?_"

"_Fight me, _Evans."

"Y-you guys!" Kate squeaked, getting in between them.

Rhythmi blinked, and then let out a sigh. She smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Kate," she said. "It's not you. I'm just not used to having to mix with _Mr. Hair Gel _over here."

Keith's whole face burned crimson red. "M-my hair is all natural!" he snapped. "Unlike _someone._"

"Well, excuse me for actually brushing my hair."

"Oh, that's it. You, me, hallw—"

"You _guys,_" Kate sighed yet again, pushing Keith back a few inches so she wasn't squished between their bickering.

Keith groaned. "…Sorry," he muttered. "Looks like this'll take some getting used to."

Kate just smiled nervously in response.

"How about," she suggested, "we go to the obstacle course, work up an appetite, _and then _get food? The cafeteria's probably packed now, and I'm not that hungry yet."

Rhythmi nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds great!" Then to Keith, with a less-than-pleasant tone, "You alright with that, Evans?"

Keith glared. "Of course I am, Blythe," he replied.

The two walked on ahead, already starting to bicker again. Kate sighed as she followed. It had been a whole week since she'd transferred, and she could safely say these two were her two best friends on campus.

Rhythmi was a sweet, beautiful, friendly girl who had helped Kate with everything from studying to finding her classes to even helping do her hair in the morning. Rhythmi was training to be an Operator, and her strengths lay in communication and technique. She was like an older sister in some respects, despite the fact that they were the same age, always looking out for Kate and helping her out. She could be superficial, though—it usually took her at least thirty minutes in front the mirror with her brush and makeup-case to deem herself class-ready, and she had repeatedly begged Kate to let her give the girl a makeover, something Kate had been avoiding desperately. Despite this, Rhythmi was responsible and kind, if not somewhat snooty.

Keith, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Fiery, energetic, disrespectful and cocky, Keith was like a time bomb waiting to blow—which he did on a regular basis. He was the regular mischief maker and slacker, his usual hangouts being in the library (sleeping) or in the staff room (pulling pranks). He was at the Academy to become a Ranger, and while his test scores were lacking, he more than made up for it with his speed, power, and Capturing skill. While rather rough around the edges when it came to dealing with people, he had seemed to warm up to Kate. The two had spent several afternoons training together in the school obstacle courses, and when he wasn't helping Kate train, he grudgingly allowed her to help him study. All in all, Keith was an arrogant and cheeky boy, but a rather nice one, even if he wasn't the best person with people. If anything, it helped them bond more—Kate was rather socially inept as well.

Kate sighed. Complete opposites, and she'd managed to make friends with both of them.

"Lovett!" Keith yelled. He and Rhythmi were already at the doors to the courtyard. "You coming, or what?!"

"Don't rush her!" Rhythmi hissed.

Keith snapped something back at her, and Kate sighed yet again as she ran after them.

'_If there's anything those two have in common,' _she thought, _'it's their stubbornness…'_

Her thoughts were cut short, though, by a loud yell from behind her.

"MISS KATE LOVETT!"

Kate jumped about a foot in the air. Keith groaned loudly, while Rhythmi winced.

The brunette slowly turned around to see a man charging towards her, and then she knew she was in trouble. The man had stern blue eyes, but the haircut didn't match—he had a ridiculous blonde curled pompadour sticking out from his head, that seemed to carry the scent of strawberries.

"H…" she gulped as he reached her. "Hello, Mr. Kincaid."

The man, Mr. Kincaid—the second homeroom teacher of Ranger Academy—glared with crossed arms. "Are you aware that running in the halls is _forbidden _at this academy?" he inquired.

"Y-yes, Mr. Kincaid," Kate replied meekly. "B-but I was just—"

"Quiet. I don't want to hear it." He cut her off before she could finish. "This is your first offense—so I'll let you off with a _warning. _However, I don't want to see you breaking the rules again. Don't be like _Evans _over there."

He gave a pointed glare to Keith, who just stuck out his tongue before hiding behind Rhythmi.

"Y-yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Kate bowed slightly before walking quickly to Keith and Rhythmi.

"Let's go let's go let's go," she mumbled to them both, her face drained of blood.

Rhythmi smiled. "Scared by the Curled Menace, I take it?"

Kate just gulped, nodding her head. Keith shrugged.

"Can't blame ya," he said, "Kincaid's a stiff pain in the ass. Maybe he just doesn't get enough sunlight—he spends all his time in the basement, after all."

Kate blinked. "The basement?" She said. It was a location that was forbidden to trespass on, punishable by a month of detention. "Why does he stay down there?

"Who knows?" Rhythmi replied. "Some say it's to conduct research, others say it's where he keeps his supply of hairspray. Either way, it's creepy—so stay clear of that guy. I feel bad for _his_ students."

Kate nodded, giving one last look at the staircase to the basement before they stepped outside.

* * *

"TARGET CLEARED!"

Kate exhaled as she holstered her Styler, walking shakily to the bench. The Taillow she had been using flew off into the sky, back to the stage of the course it was trained to return to.

The brunette reached the bench, sitting down. Keith, who was already there, threw her a towel.

"Good work," he said, his breathing also slightly labored. He had taken off the tie and jacket portion of his uniform, leaving himself in the short sleeved, blue denim shirt, the matching pants, and high brown boots. "What was your time?"

Kate took the towel gratefully, wiping her face. She had done the same as Keith, leaving herself in the same uniform, only with shorts instead of loose pants. "T-twenty minutes, thirty-six seconds," she panted, "I managed to shave ten seconds off."

"Hah!" Keith grinned, splashing water on his face. "I got nineteen minutes and forty eight seconds. Better luck next time."

Kate smiled sheepishly, but then looked around. "But wow… This really is an amazing facility, though, isn't it?" She said.

The two were in the back courtyard of the school, in front of a huge obstacle course filled with Pokémon and various barriers. At the end of each path were simple red flags.

"Well, yeah," Keith shrugged. "There's a reason this is the Academy for Rangers, after all. The goal is to assess your situation, catch the Pokémon that will take down obstacles for you, and reach the flag—your target—as fast as possible. What's more, the course is never the same—they change it up and switch obstacles and Pokémon at least once a month."

He took a swig of his water, gulping it down. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he blinked upwards.

"You think I could get down to fifteen minutes by the end of the week?" He mused.

"Yeah," Rhythmi's voice suddenly came from behind them, "when hell freezes over."

"GAH!" Keith stood, jumping back. "Dammit, Blythe! Don't scare me like that!"

Rhythmi smiled innocently. "Sorry, sorry," she said, although her voice held a ring of amusement. She looked at Kate.

"Dessert now?" she asked. Kate smiled and nodded.

"Sure," she replied, "let me shower and we can go."

A half hour later, the trio was in the cafeteria, preparing to dig in. Kate was enjoying her ice cream happily—a welcome treat after a long, hard training session.

"Still," Rhythmi sighed mournfully, "it's not fair. How come I have to share Kate with an ill-mannered cretin like _Keith?_"

Keith's eye twitched. "…Excuse me," he said, "but I'm right here."

"He wasn't even _nice _to you in the first place. He called you a liar with dumb luck just because you beat him at something."

"Still right here."

Kate laughed nervously, feeling the tension in the air rise. "W-well," she said, "that's…"

"All I'm saying," Rhythmi said, taking a spoonful of ice cream, "is that it's weird. One minute you two were enemies, and suddenly, the next day, Kate pads over to Keith like nobody's business! And you two start talking normally! What happened?"

"I-I wouldn't say we were _enemies,_" Kate started, "we just… got off on the wrong foot, right?"

Keith shrugged. "Guess you can say that," he muttered. Then, with a glare at Rhythmi, "And our friendship is none of your business, Blythe."

Rhythmi held up both hands with open palms, dismissing the issue. "Fine, fine," she said, "forget I asked."

* * *

Hours later, it was evening, and all the students were preparing for bed. Kate was in the girls' dormitory with all the other female students, taking off her jacket and tie.

"Ah, Kate," Rhythmi said, suddenly taking her by the hand to stop her, "you don't have to change into your pajamas yet."

"Huh? Oh, sure!" Kate blinked. "…I-I mean… w-what? Why?"

Rhythmi smiled. "You'll see. Anyways, get in bed and act like you're asleep—then when Janice finishes checking on us, you can go ahead and get up again."

"But that's against the—" Kate faltered as Rhythmi walked away. "…r-rules…" She sighed. What was going on?

Nonetheless, Kate went along with the plan, climbing into her bed and getting under the covers by curfew with all the other girls. Eventually, Janice peeked in, scanning the room for any raised heads or voices. Seemingly satisfied with what she found, she left the room, footsteps soon fading into silence.

Almost immediately after the silence fell, a whistle sounded from one of the girls, followed quickly by the fluttering of covers being thrown off.

"Come on, Kate," Rhythmi called, "everyone's waiting!"

Kate jumped a bit, hurrying out of bed. "Ah—y-yes—" she said—although truly, she still had no idea what was happening. All the girls filed out the door of their room, Rhythmi being the second last to exit, Kate trailing behind her.

What happened next just about gave her a heart attack.

Poppers went off as she entered the common room, little flakes of multicolored confetti raining down. Every student in the school (a small number, perhaps only about thirty students in all) was gathered there, and they all looked at Kate. Immediately, she felt her body stiffen, her hands lose feeling, her throat tighten as she tried to find the words to ask what was happening. Thankfully, though, she didn't have to.

Keith walked over, grinning ear to ear. "Welcome to your initiation ceremony, Lovett!" he cheered.

"I—ini—initia—t-test—w-_what?_" Kate stammered, face reddening. Rhythmi came up behind them, smiling.

"Initiation test," she repeated. "It's a tradition that's been held for years by students of the Academy. I went through it, Keith went through it—everyone has."

"I… I-I see," said Kate, her hands starting to gain the ability to move again. "S-so… n-now it's my turn?"

"Correct-a-mundo!"

A young man came out of the crowd—he seemed a few years older than the rest of the students. His head was almost completely bald, like a marshmallow, with only a tuft of teal hair on the top of the temple.

Kate blinked. "I-I'm sorry, you are…?" she said uncertainly. Keith gestured to the boy carelessly.

"That's Ponte, the conflicted marshmallow boy," he said. "He's the oldest out of all of us. Reason he's been here so long is that he hasn't chosen his career path. Simply put, he's indecisive."

Ponte winced. "That's cold, man," he whined in reply. Then he looked back at Kate.

"Anyway, the rules are simple," he said. "Five of us have hidden our Stylers in the school. Your job is to go find them all and bring them back here. Once you do, you've completed the test."

"…A-and if I complete the test?" Kate asked. "What happens?"

Ponte blinked. "…Well, nothing, really," he mused. Then he smiled. "It's just a tradition. Humor us, will you? This was started by a guy named Spencer who came here years ago, and now he's a Base Leader in Fiore!"

Kate's eyes widened. A Base Leader? That was a huge honor.

"Of course," Rhythmi chimed in, "we can't very well let you go alone. It's too dangerous in the dark. So we drew straws, and chose someone to go with you."

Kate blinked. "And that is?" she asked tentatively, praying it was someone she knew.

Rhythmi's face fell as she sighed. "…Yes," she muttered. "Well, it's… _him._"

Kate knew from that tone who she was speaking of, and she felt relief wash over her. Looking at Keith, though, he seemed less than pleased to be accompanying her.

"…Yeah… well," he grumbled, "we might as well get a move on, huh?"

Kate gulped, then nodded. "Y-yeah," she murmured.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two were in the main hall of the school, walking towards the classrooms. Keith was walking directly behind Kate, who was holding a flashlight and lighting their way.

Kate chewed her lip nervously as she looked around. She wasn't spooked by the darkness—not at all. But she _was _nervous about how disenchanted Keith seemed to be that he was paired with her. Weren't they friends? Shouldn't he be a bit more cheerful? He was usually so full of energy, was he just tired? It was late at night, after all. Oh, this was torture. She couldn't take it—she had to—

"Keith!" she blurted, spinning around and effectively giving him a blinding light to the face.

"GAH—!" he yelled in response—then he yelled at her. "WHAT, Lovett?!"

Kate jumped at the exclamation. Her mind began to panic. He really did seem ticked off. "U-um," she started, before she lost her nerve, "y-you seem… k-kind of upset… I-I mean, i-if you think this is too much t-trouble, going with me like this—I-I know I must be boring, after all—t-then you can—!"

Keith blinked slowly. Then he managed to put two and two together.

"_WH—" _he said in response, jumping. "N-no! That's not it, trust me! I-it's nothing to do with you, I-I promise! I-I just, err… ah, shit… U-uh. I-I'm kinda bummed I left my GameBoy upstairs! I-I thought I could, uh… p-play some of it while you looked for Stylers—"

Just as Kate was about to reply something along the lines of 'oh I see sorry to be rude,' a scuffling sound came from nearby.

Keith yelped. Loudly. "EEARGH!" he screeched, jumping behind Kate and grabbing her shoulders. "What was that what was that what the _hell _was that."

Kate shone the flashlight on a tiny baby Bidoof, who promptly let out a "doof!" before scuffling away.

Keith blinked—then, noticing he was nearly clawing through Kate's shoulders, managed to let go with shaky hands.

"…I-I see," he coughed, trying to play it off, "it was just a Bidoof, huh? Haha! N-no need to get scared, Lo—"

"Keith," Kate said slowly, "are you afraid of ghosts?"

Keith jumped. "_What?_" he said, his voice unnaturally high pitched. "Haha no don't be silly Lovett that's ridiculous me afraid of ghosts haha that's a laugh."

Kate put up a hand to stop him. "N-no, it's fine!" she said with a slight smile. "It's nothing to be ashamed of…"

Keith stared with narrowed eyes, as if trying to tell if she was lying. Kate stared back with honest eyes.

"…You better not tell Blythe," he muttered, walking on ahead. "Or _anyone, _while you're at it."

Kate jumped, nodding as she ran after him. "Y-yes! I promise!" she replied, voice full of relief.

A while later, after smashing some boxes, chasing a Pichu, and sneaking past Zubat (Kate was beginning to wonder how in the world the students had managed to set this up without being caught), the two had managed to get their hands on four out of five of the Stylers.

Kate blinked, looking around. "Where's your Styler, Keith? It's the only one left," she said nervously. "We've checked all the rooms…" Keith winced, looking down.

"…Not… _all _the rooms," he muttered.

Kate blinked. Then her eyes widened as she understood. "…You didn't," she said cautiously.

Keith gave a moan of regret. "I did," he said.

The two slowly looked back to the staircase leading to the basement.

"…I-I thought it'd be funny," Keith mumbled, "so I snuck down there during breakfast and put my Styler down there…"

Kate gulped, but then steeled herself. "I-it can't be helped," she said. "Mr. Kincaid is asleep in the teacher's dorm. It won't be any trouble to go get it. T-there's no reason to be afraid."

Keith nodded in response. "Y-yeah," he said, "L-let's go."

The two slowly went down the staircase, holding onto the railing so they didn't lose their grip. There was a wooden fence put up that blocked their way, but they cut through it easily with a Zubat.

"Why the fence?" Keith muttered. "It wasn't here earlier…"

Kate laughed nervously. "W-who knows…?" she said. Then she blinked.

"Keith!" she called, pointing. Up ahead, sitting on some boxes, was a green School Styler. Keith gave a whoop of triumph.

"Alright!" he laughed, running over and picking it up. "Nice going, Lovett! You've got all the Stylers! Now, let's hurry up and—"

He suddenly stopped, blinking.

"…Keith?" Kate said, looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"…Err… well, I… it's probably nothing." Keith gulped, going a bit pale. "…But… this isn't where I left my Styler."

He looked up, pointing at a higher stack of boxes.

"I-I hid it inside of that top box…"

The air seemed to go cold. The silence that came next was unnatural.

Kate gulped, looking around. "Y-you're probably just imagining it, Keith," she said. "C-c'mon, let's—"

"…_Gaaaast… ly…"_

The two of them both jumped, looking around. "What was—?!" Keith yelped, gripping his Styler.

Kate turned around. And then she shrieked.

Four large balls of shadowy gas were in front of them. Only… they had faces… and large, dripping tongues.

"SHIT!" Keith yelled. "I forgot! Gastly come out at night!"

"H-how do you forget something like—" Kate started, but then screamed as she narrowly ducked out of the way as one of them tried to lick her.

"Kate, take two! I'll take the others!" Keith shouted.

Kate nodded. "R-right!"

"CAPTURE ON!"

Both the students fired their Stylers, the Capture Discs spinning out. Circling the Gastly while at the same time keeping as _far _a distance from them as possible, they proceeded the capturing.

And that's when the teleporting began.

"Wha—?" Keith blinked when one of the Gastly he'd been capturing dissolved, reappearing right behind him. "H-HEY! UNFAIR!"

"K-Keith, calm down!" Kate managed to say as she circled fast enough to capture one Gastly successfully. "M-make small, really fast circles so you can get them before they teleport!"

"Got it!" Keith shouted in reply—and once he followed that advice, he had a Gastly under his belt as well. He glared at the other Gastly, who was waving its tongue around as if mocking him. "Alright, you're next, creep!"

In time, the two managed to capture all the Gastly. Releasing them, the Gastly went through the walls, disappearing.

Kate gave a sigh of relief… but then she blinked.

Keith looked at her. "What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing," Kate said uncertainly, "just… you called me 'Kate' just now, right?"

Keith blinked. "I, uh… yes?" he said, confused. Kate smiled brightly.

"T-that was the first time!" she said happily. "B-before, it was always 'Lovett!'"

Keith blinked rapidly—and then his face went a fine red.

"_Wh—_what the hell?!" he yelped, looking away. "I-it's just a name! Quit being so damn peppy about it!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Kate said, although she couldn't stop smiling. "It's just—"

…_Scritch…_

Both the students jumped a bit, looking up.

…_Scritch, scratch…_

The sound was coming from the door of the basement room.

"…It sounds like… writing," Kate mumbled.

"Who the hell could be up writing at this hour?" Keith muttered. "Should we—"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN HERE?!"

A familiar, screeching voice came behind them. Kate and Keith spun around to see who it was, although it was hardly necessary.

"M-Mr. Kincaid?!" Kate exclaimed in shock. "W-what are you—?!"

"Not good!" Keith shouted, grabbing Kate's wrist. "Let's ditch!"

"GET BACK HERE!" Kincaid screamed after them. "THE BASEMENT IS OFF LIMITS! YOU TWO ARE IN BIG TROUBLE FOR…"

The voice faded out as Kate and Keith fled up the stairs.

* * *

Once they returned, the group of students all clapped and cheered.

"Congratulations, Kate!" Rhythmi smiled. "You've completed your test of initiation!"

Kate smiled, although she was still shaky. "T… t-thank you…" she managed.

Keith, who was trying his hardest to forget the whole thing, looked at Ponte. "That reminds me," he said, "where's Mushroom?"

Ponte sighed. "Could you try using his real name, buddy?" he said. "And I think Isaac's studying in the library, as usual. That guy never quits."

Then Ponte grinned, holding up a hand as a signal. "Alright!" he called. "The test is over, so let's eat!"

Immediately, students brought out trays of sweets, plates of food, Berry juice, soda. Kate gaped.

"W-wha…" she started, and Rhythmi smiled.

"We always have a party when a test is complete," she said, "so dig in!"

Kate smiled back. "S-sure!" she replied happily.

Rhythmi smiled more—but then it became more of a smirk. She leaned in close.

"So," she said slyly, "was Keith scared? I have a hunch he's afraid of the dark. Was I right?"

Kate blinked slowly… and then she smiled.

"No," she answered, "sorry, but I didn't notice anything."

Rhythmi frowned. "Tch," she sighed. "I bet you're just covering. Oh, well."

The blonde left to get some food, Kate smiling after her. Then the brunette felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hm?" She looked up to see Keith behind her. His face was red as he looked away, his mouth set in a stubborn frown.

"…T…" he mumbled. "…Thanks. For not telling her, I mean."

Kate stared for a moment, but then she smiled gently. "No, it's no problem," she replied. Then she blinked.

"Ah, but…" she said, fiddling with her hands. "If it's ok… do you think you could do me something in return?"

Keith blinked. "Uh—yeah, sure," he nodded. "Anything. What's up?"

Kate smiled nervously. "C-could you and Rhythmi… try and get along?" she said slowly. Keith's eyes widened, but she cut him off before he could protest. "P-please? You're both so nice! I-I'm not asking you to be best friends, but… if you could just start by calling her by her first name instead of 'Blythe…' A-and maybe not insult her as much…"

Keith gritted his teeth slowly, looking at her with narrowed amber eyes. Kate stared back with honest pale blue ones… finally, he let out a sigh of defeat.

"…I'll _try,_" he said. "But don't expect us to become fluffy-lovey-best-friends-forever overnight!"

Kate's face lit up, her cheeks flushing pink in joy. She nodded. "T-thank you!"

Keith blushed more, looking away. "Now c'mon, let's get food… Rhythmi!" he shouted across the room to the blonde. "Save us some seats!"

Rhythmi looked utterly shocked and confused for a moment when he said her first name—but recovered quickly, yelling back, "Sure!"

The party went on into the night.

* * *

Downstairs, in the single room of the basement, a young boy was working at a desk, writing up some kind of report. He had the Academy uniform on, eager-looking blue eyes, and blonde hair styled in a bowl cut—almost like a mushroom. He was surrounded by machines and papers as he worked away. The room was like a lab of some sort, with graphs, contraptions, screws, tools, rulers—every research implement under the sun.

The door opened, and in came Mr. Kincaid. The boy blinked, looking to see who had come in. He smiled when he saw the teacher.

"Mr. Kincaid!" he exclaimed. "I was just finishing these reports. The carbon balance seems to be a bit off, but if I can fix the nuclear absorption rate, then—"

Mr. Kincaid chuckled, patting the boy's head. "Calm down," he said. "You've done some good work today. It's late, though—shouldn't you sleep?"

"Huh? Late?" the boy blinked. "What are you talking about, sir? It's only…"

He looked at the clock. Two in the morning.

"W-wah!" he stood up, eyes wide in surprise. "I-it's already this time?! I-I didn't even notice!"

Mr. Kincaid smiled. "So into your work that you didn't notice the time, huh?" he said. "You seem to do that a lot, boy."

The boy laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "A-ahaha…" he smiled. "Well, I should get to sleep. I have more work to do tomorrow."

Mr. Kincaid nodded. "Alright, then," he said, "I'll see you when I finish teaching my class."

The boy nodded, giving one last broad smile before walking out of the lab and into the darkness of the hallway ahead.


	3. A Certain Scientific Mushroom

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews! I was worried about how the first half of Chapter Two would take, but it seems as if you all liked it. **

**As for me, I'm currently doing a run of Pokémon Pearl, only my good friend Brendan and I have divvied up all the possible Pokémon you're able to catch in the game and made a pact to only capture the Pokémon 'on our list.' Every Gym, we're going to have a battle. I think I'll keep score here for the heck of it, so root for me. I don't think I'll need it till later, though—I have Starly and Shinx on my list of catchable Pokémon for the first two routes, and he only has Bidoof. It's pretty obvious who's going to be winning the first battle. The marathon begins when I return from vacation.**

**And now, moving on to questions…**

"_**Why do you think all those anonymous reviews could be from the same person?" –**_**Let it be known I'm a paranoid person. I'm probably dead wrong in assuming that burst of reviews was all the same person, and I managed to convince myself of that. If you want to know my reasoning, though, it was because all the reviews came in spurts at a certain time. I'd have nothing, and then boom—ten to twenty reviews all at once, one after the other. Then they'd stop. That made me a little uncertain about whether all my praise really was wide-spread, but I'm a bit more confident now.**

"_**Is this fic going to follow the original storyline (of the video game) closely, or will you add your own twist?" –**_**I'll be adding lots of my own twists! From character backgrounds to plot points, I can assure you this won't adhere strictly to the original game.**

"_**Will people from the anime or other games or the manga make cameos?" **_**–Yes, they will. I plan on having Solana and Lunick cameo at least once, and I'd like to involve Kellyn at least a little—although I do have one **_**great **_**cameo for much later on in the story that I can't wait to reveal.**

"_**I still think Kate's freakin' adorable, but let's face it, who doesn't?" **_**–No one. Kate's cuteness is slowly infecting the world. Soon she will be unstoppable.**

"_**Are we allowed to leave questions? I don't have an account. Fantastic story." **_**–Yes, you are! If you have any questions—whether it be about myself or my story—don't hesitate to leave it in your review. I always gather up questions to answer at the beginning of every chapter.**

**That's all the questions! I'll leave you with one last announcement—whoever can name the thing I'm referencing in the title of this chapter will get a doodle of their choice drawn by me! Please enjoy the latest chapter. Filler is fun to write.**

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

_**A Certain Scientific Mushroom**_

* * *

"…Hey, Kate."

"What is it, Keith?"

It had been two weeks since the test of initiation. The hot summer months were slowly cooling into fall, and Kate and Keith were sitting under a tree, Kate writing something as Keith lied on his back and stared at the sky.

"What do you think that whole deal in the basement was?" Keith asked, crunching a fallen red leaf in his hand. "Kincaid never reported us. And to top that, he closed off the basement entrance with a _traffic sign._"

"…Mm," Kate tapped her pen against her lip. "Maybe… it was dark, so he didn't get a good look at our faces? That would explain the whole not reporting us…"

"He'd recognize our voices, right?" Keith pressed. "I mean, we yelled when he caught us!"

"Well, maybe not," Kate said thoughtfully. "Your voice was pretty high-pitched then, Keith. Maybe Mr. Kincaid thought you were a girl."

Keith reddened. "Z-zip it!" he snapped, sitting up and looking at her. "W-whatever, let's just drop it for now! A-and where's Rhythmi?!"

Kate sighed, not looking up from her paper. "I told you earlier," she said, "Rhythmi is in her Operating class. She has a quiz on the National Ranger Database, remember?"

"Tch," Keith grumbled, "she'll probably be too busy checking out her reflection to do any studying."

The brunette frowned, lifting her eyes to look at him. "Be nice," she scolded lightly, "she let you copy her notes from last class."

"That doesn't mean I have to _like _her," the redhead huffed, leaning against the tree next to her. "What are you doing, anyway? Writing a paper?"

Kate smiled slightly at him. "No," she said, "I'm writing a letter."

"Letter?" Keith sat up a bit, his curiosity piqued. "Who to? Parents?"

"Well, something like that," Kate replied as she wrote more, "it's to my little sister. And she repeats everything I write to my parents, so I guess it's the same thing."

"…Sister?" Keith blinked, his jaw dropping a bit. "You've got a _sister?_"

Kate nodded. "Yeah!" she said, smiling more. "She's eight years old, and she lives back in Pacifidlog with my parents. She's really cute, and sweet, too!"

Keith made a hum in the back of his throat. "A little sister, huh… Must be nice," he said, "being able to be a role model like that."

Kate's cheeks flushed a fine red. "H-huh?" she stammered, looking down. "O-oh, no, I-I'm not a…" she decided to change the subject. "W-what about you, Keith? You don't have siblings?"

Keith shrugged. "Yeah, I got siblings," he said, "just not younger ones. I've got an older brother."

Kate blinked, staring. "An older brother," she murmured, "huh…"

A few seconds passed, after which Keith looked up at Kate.

"…W-what?" he said. "Why're you staring? It's creeping me out."

"…Nothing… just," Kate blinked again, tilting her head a bit. "Keith, you don't really fit the 'little brother' look."

Keith sputtered, straightening up to look at her. "W-what the _hell _are you—?"

Just then, though, a bell started sounding from the school. The two looked up.

"That was the third bell… we still have one more study hall." Kate looked at Keith. "Do you want to go to the obstacle course?"

Keith winced, and then groaned. "Can't," he replied, "Kincaid caught me nicking food from the kitchens. I've got detention. See, that's _another _suspicious thing—he's been harder on me ever since that night!"

Kate sighed. "_Or,_" she quipped back, "you've just been getting caught more often."

She stood up. "If you'll be in detention this period, then I'm going to study in the library. Rhythmi's got a double period for her class, so I'll be alone."

Keith sighed. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "We've got World Studies with Ms. April next, right?"

"And then Target Clearing practice with Ms. Claire," Kate added, "so you might as well bring your Styler to World Studies so we can head straight to the practice fields from there."

"Got it," Keith said, turning away, "have fun at the _library._"

Kate smiled, nodding. "I will!" she replied cheerfully as Keith rolled his eyes at her obliviousness to sarcasm.

* * *

The library was large and quiet, tables set up so students could read in peace. The bookcases reached all the way to the ceiling, ladders and staircases set up so students could access all the books.

Kate was in the Pokémon Research aisle, looking for a specific book—she had a test on Pokémon and their habitats next week, and Rhythmi had recommended a book that covered the subjects according to type very well. Running a finger along the spines of the books, she searched for the title.

"…Pokémon In Their Natural Habitats," she mused to herself. "Pokémon Types and the Habitats that Affect Them… ah! 'Habitats And The Pokémon That Shape Them—'"

Her hand fell on the book—but surprisingly, it wasn't alone. A different hand also went for the book at the same time as her, the fingers touching in the process.

"…Huh…" Kate blinked, looking up to see who it was.

Staring back at her was a boy who looked her age. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair that was styled in a bowl cut—almost like a mushroom. He was carrying several books under one arm, the other reaching for the book Kate had been searching for. His skin was pale, as if he never went outside.

"…Ah…" The boy blinked, staring back at Kate. Then he jumped, ears going pink as he quickly retracted his hand. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I shouldn't have—!"

Kate also jumped, stammering. "N-no, i-it's fine! Y-you got the book first, s-so—!"

"N-no, y-you take the book! P-please!"

"L-like I said, y-you went first, a-and I don't want to get in your way!"

"D-don't worry, I-I-I've read t-this book a-at _least _seven times!"

"T-that may be so, b-but…!"

The two both gulped simultaneously, both their faces dark red from embarrassment. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the boy took the book off the shelf.

"P-please," he said, holding the book out, "I-I insist."

Kate stared for a moment, before nodding with an awkward jerk of the head. "T-thank you," she said, taking the book.

"I-it's no problem!" The boy replied quickly. "I-I know there's a test coming up for Ms. April's class, s-so you need it far more than I do."

Kate nodded again—but then she blinked, looking up. "…U-um," she said uncertainly, "h-how do you know I'm in Ms. April's class?"

The boy gave a sheepish smile. "Ah… well, you're not in Mr. Kincaid's class. I-I don't go to class that often, but I know that much. S-so it's only natural you be in Ms. April's."

"I-I see," Kate replied, gripping her book. "…U-um…"

Steeling her courage, she managed to blurt out, "W-what's your name!?"

The boy blinked a bit in surprise, but then he looked down with a nervous smile. "I… i-it's Isaac," he said. "Isaac Verity."

"I-Isaac Verity," Kate repeated, so she'd remember. "I-I'm Kate. K-Kate Lovett."

Isaac seemed to mull that over for a moment. "Lovett… oh!" he smiled, holding up his pointer finger. "Y-you're that transfer student! Ponte told me about you."

"Y-yes!" Kate exclaimed in response. "T-that's me! T-the transfer student!"

A pause came to the conversation, filled only by uncomfortable silence.

"…W-well," Kate finally said. "I-I should… p-probably get studying. I-it was nice talking, Mr. Verity."

She turned to leave, but Isaac called, "W-wait up!"

Kate jumped, looking back. "Y-yes!" she squeaked. "W-what is it?"

"I… I know the test is, um," Isaac gulped, "going to be hard. S-so, I mean… i-if you're OK with it, Miss Lovett… I-I could help you study—i-if it's ok, t-that is!"

Kate blinked slowly. But then her ears turned red, and she nodded frantically.

"S-sure!" she replied hurriedly. "I-I barely understand this material! I-if it's really alright, I-I… I would appreciate the help!"

The two walked off to a study table, both seeming very pleased at having a new friend.

* * *

"Kate?"

Rhythmi frowned as yet another whisper went unreturned. She'd finished her test twenty minutes ago, and after a brief visit to Keith in Mr. Kincaid's room, had learned that Kate was in the library.

"Jeez," the blonde, sighed, twisting a curl of hair around her little finger, "where could she be…?"

"…So you see, if a forest becomes overpopulated with…"

"…Oh, I get it…"

Rhythmi blinked, looking around for the familiar whispers. Turning a corner, she saw Kate's familiar pigtails and… a mushroom?

"Kate!" Rhythmi called in a whisper, walking over.

Kate looked up from her books, her face lighting up. "Oh, Rhythmi!" she smiled in delight. "I was just here studying. Did Keith tell you where I was?"

Rhythmi smiled back. "Yep. I finished my test, so I thought I'd come and help you out… but…" she looked over at Isaac. "I guess you didn't need it. Hey, Isaac."

Kate smiled more. "Yep! He's so smart! Apparently, he's able to skip classes and research on his own—isn't that amazing?" She looked at the blonde boy. "Tell her, Mr. Ve—WHOA!"

She jumped a bit when she saw Isaac's face, which was a rather interesting shade of maroon. His eyes were wide as saucers, his jaw hanging slightly slack, and his hands shaking as he tried—and failed miserably—to not look at Rhythmi.

"I-Isaac!" Kate shrieked in worry. "A-are you OK?!"

Rhythmi just blinked, oddly not fazed by this turn of events.

Isaac didn't answer for a bit, but when his brain registered the words, his body gave a jolt as he gulped for air.

"N-no—" he said in a rather choked voice, "I-I'm fine—b-but I—I-I should r-really get going—"

"Why's that?" Rhythmi said, blinking. "Stay awhile. I'd like to see the 'one in a million genius' show off a bit."

She smiled dazzlingly.

Isaac's face went from maroon to burgundy. His hands shook as he started to quickly gather his books.

"T-that sounds great but maybe some other time because I really have to go now haha seriously sorry I couldn't stay I'm really sorry good luck on your test Miss Lovett BYE—"

He sped out of the library, almost slipping on the carpet as he went.

Kate blinked, her face awash with worry. "…W-was he really alright?" she murmured. "He looked sick…"

"Really?" Rhythmi blinked back, still looking as if nothing of interest had happened. "He seemed fine to me."

"Kate!" a voice suddenly yelled from nearby. "Rhythmi!"

The two girls looked up to see Keith running towards them. Rhythmi glared daggers at him.

"Keith!" she hissed, eyes darting to the librarian, "don't yell, _or _run! Do you want detention again!?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Oh, like it matters," he huffed, "I already served my time."

Looking at Kate, he asked, "So, was your _precious library _time fun?"

Kate smiled cheerfully. "Y-yeah!" she replied. "I-I met a boy named Isaac Verity, a-and he helped me study!"

Keith blinked. "Verity?" he said. He ran a hand through his messy copper hair, mulling it over. "Verity… Isaac Verity… oh. Isn't that Mushroom Boy?"

Rhythmi made a 'tsk' of disapproval. "He has a _name, _you know."

Keith glared. "Shut it. I can't memorize every friggin' student in this school." He turned his attention to Kate. "But Mushroom Boy, huh? Yeah, I heard he's a genius. He's allowed to skip class just so he can do solo research—he's here to be a scientist, can you believe it?"

Kate nodded fervently. "I can!" she exclaimed. "He's so smart! A-and not only that, he's a good teacher, he's nice, and he was patient when I didn't understand…"

Keith stared.

"…Sounds like you've taken a liking to him," he commented—his voice carrying a note of suspicion.

Of course, though, Kate was tone-deaf. "Yeah!" she smiled. "I… I-I think we might actually be friends now! Isn't that great?!"

Keith looked at her for a bit. Then his mouth seemed to set in a small, stubborn frown as he averted his eyes.

"…Yeah," he muttered. "That's great. Good for you." Kate beamed in response, while Rhythmi just blinked a bit before a faint smirk made its way onto her face. "Anyway!" Keith continued quickly, obviously eager to change the subject, "Kate, c'mon. We've got World Studies next. You too, Rhythmi!"

"A-ah, ok!" Kate said, unable to feel the change of Keith's mood through her joyous haze of making a new friend. The three set off for their class, Keith a little ahead of the other two as he stomped through the library.

* * *

Hours later, classes were over. Kate, Keith and Rhythmi were in the common room, seated around a small table—Kate and Rhythmi on a sofa together, and Keith in an armchair next to them. They were each occupied with their own activity—Kate was finishing up the letter to her sister, Keith was reading a comic book (_"The Adventures of Red and Blue"_), and Rhythmi was doing her nails.

Kate hummed a bit as she slipped her neatly folded letter into an envelope. "Done!" she said happily.

Keith looked up. "Good for you," he said. "Hope your sister likes it."

Rhythmi blinked. "Sister?" She looked at Kate. "You have a sister?"

Kate smiled sheepishly at the sudden déjà vu. "Y-yeah. A younger one. She's back at home with my family—but once I get stationed as a full-fledged Ranger, they plan on moving nearby."

"Hmm," Keith hummed in remark, "that's nice. My dad's always traveling, and my brother's in med school…"

"You have a _brother?_" Rhythmi said in disbelief. "How do I not know these things? I know everything."

"Yeah," Keith snorted quietly, "that's 'cause you're a nosy—"

"_Keith,_" Kate cut him off gently. Keith just grumbled, but stopped himself from finishing.

Kate smiled, looking out the window. "…I wonder where I'll get stationed?" she mused. "Maybe in a desert area? Or a big city?"

Keith shrugged. "Who knows?" he said. "We're going to be stationed depending on which Bases are in need of new Rangers, what environments we'd work best in—et cetera." Then he smirked, adding, "Knowing your luck, though, you'd be put all the way in a dark forest."

Kate huffed a little at that. "That's mean," she replied. Then, with a smile, "But even that wouldn't be too bad. I never even saw trees before coming to this school, so a forest would be kind of nice…"

A beat.

Keith slowly looked up from his comic book.

"…You…" Keith said slowly, "never saw trees."

Kate shook her head. "Nope."

Keith gaped. "…How the _hell,_" he insisted, "do you go through _sixteen years of life _without ever seeing a _tree?_"

Kate flinched a bit, but Rhythmi seemed unfazed.

"It's not unusual," she said, blowing her nails, "considering where she came from."

"And just where the hell did she come from?" Keith demanded. "_Space?!_"

"P-Pacifidlog in Hoenn," Kate said meekly. Rhythmi rolled her eyes.

"It's not in space," she explained, "but it _is _in something unusual… Pacifidlog is a floating city. It's in the middle of the ocean."

Keith blinked, processing that.

"I-I never left Pacifidlog growing up," Kate said with a sheepish smile, "so I never really saw a real tree. Just the ocean everywhere around me. Oh—but ships came in with lumber and food supply!"

"…That," Keith said finally, "is… _so cool!_"

He looked at Kate, suddenly fully engaged. "So it's in the middle of the ocean!? How the hell does that even work?!"

"U-um," Kate stammered, a bit surprised by the sudden questioning. "W-well, all the houses and stores are built on a special water-resistant wood… I-it's really durable, but it floats at the same time. T-they're anchored down so we don't float away."

"Wow… that's sick," Keith said, obviously impressed.

Rhythmi scowled, sticking her leg out at him and pushing her bare foot in his face. "Don't use such immature language," she said in disgust.

"EW! Rhythmi!" Keith yelped, although he was laughing slightly as he pushed her foot off. Rhythmi seemed a bit amused as well—and Kate was positively beaming at the two.

"…Thank Arceus," she said happily, "you guys are getting along better."

Keith rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Sure, if you call her shoving her foot in my face 'getting along better,' then we're the best of friends," he replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kate giggled, but then blinked. "…Speaking of getting along…" she looked at Rhythmi. "Rhyth, I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot," Rhythmi said, blowing on one nail.

"Um… I might be wrong about this, but… do you know Isaac?" Kate inquired, tilting her head a bit to look at Rhythmi more. "It might have been just me, but you seemed to be familiar with him."

"_What?_" Keith said, his face showing utter disbelief. "Nerd boy and _Rhythmi? _You're kidding, right?"

"I-it's true!" Kate insisted. "She called him by his first name, all casual-like!"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, Kate, not everyone goes addressing their peers by 'Mr.' and 'Miss.' But…" he looked at Rhythmi. "Is Kate wrong? Or do you…?"

Rhythmi didn't look up from her nails. "Yeah, I know him," she said simply. "We grew up together."

A silence, in which Kate and Keith stared with wide eyes.

"…S-seriously?" Keith choked.

Rhythmi nodded in response. "I lived in Floaroma town with my mom," she explained. "She runs the flower shop there. It's small, but it's the most popular one in Sinnoh, I'll bet… anyways, Isaac lived in Twinleaf Town. His mom and my mom are really good friends—they used to hang out all the time by having Isaac and his mom fly over on their family Staraptor. As a result, Isaac and I played together a lot as kids…" she sighed a bit. "If you can call it that, I suppose."

Kate blinked. "Pardon?" she asked.

Rhythmi rolled her eyes. "He read books. A lot. That was pretty much his idea of fun…" she sighed again—but this time it seemed a bit more reminiscent. "…But," she continued, "he always read me the best stories. He could read entire novels when we were just four, can you believe it? Of course I was illiterate at that age, and my mom was always too busy to properly read me stories… so… it was nice, having him around."

Keith stared. "…You two don't hang around anymore, though?" he asked, confused. "I mean, if you're childhood friends…"

"We grew apart," Rhythmi replied bluntly as she applied a clear finish to her nails. "His family moved away to Pueltown when we were twelve. I saw him for the first time in four years when I came to this school… but… he's always busy studying."

Kate's face fell. "…That's so sad."

Rhythmi blinked, and then smiled. "Oh, don't be like that!" she said. "I have you, Kate. And Keith, even though he's annoying and a pain in the ass."

"I'm right here," Keith muttered, "as usual."

Rhythmi ignored him, continuing. "So it's ok. Isaac's busy pursuing his dream, and I respect that."

Kate smiled, but it was a bit weak as her thoughts scrambled in the back of her mind. She said that, but… Isaac had really seemed to be open to Kate, a complete stranger, even though he seemed busy at the time. How could he not have time for Rhythmi?

Deciding not to brood on it, Kate pushed the thought away as another one surfaced. "Oh! One more question!" she said.

"Yes?" Rhythmi said, giving her nails a final inspection.

"Isaac looked sick earlier, right? His face was all red and he was stammering a lot. You weren't worried at all, Rhythmi?"

Rhythmi blinked… and then she looked up.

"What are you talking about, Kate?" she said in total bewilderment. "Isaac's always been like that. Since we were little kids… I've never talked to him before without seeing his face that color, I figure it's just the way he is. What, was he different with you?"

Kate blinked.

Keith's eyes widened, before he let out a 'pff' and ducked behind his comic book as he desperately tried to contain his laughter.

"I… w-well, h-he was…" Kate said in confusion. "He seemed—"

"_O_-kay!" Keith interrupted loudly, standing up. "Curfew's soon! Let's all get ready for bed!" He walked past the sofa, grabbing one of Kate's pigtails and dragging her off down the hall towards the dorms. "C'mon, Kate! Rhythmi, catch up when your nails dry! One, two, one, two, nothing to see here, folks—"

The two left Rhythmi alone with only her glossy blue nails and a _very _confused state of mind.

And around the corner, a mushroom-headed scientist stole one last glance at the blonde before scurrying off to bed.


	4. The Outdoors Class

**Author's Note: And we're back! I won't be able to post for a week or so after this, since I'm going to be spending time with my grandmother in her wifi-less cabin in the woods. If I can get to a wifi-enabled café or something, though, I'll try and post. And now for questions…**

"_**Any ideas on how long this story will be?" **_**-By my estimate… 60-70 chapters. I've got a lot of ground to cover.**

"_**Will any X and Y Pokémon make appearances?" **_**–Maybe, but only after the game is actually released. There are people out there who don't want any spoilers for the game till it comes out, and I respect that.**

"_**Could you list some of your favorite Pokémon shippings?" **_**–Oh gosh, this'll take awhile. I'll just list them all, and if anyone doesn't know a ship name you can just Google it:**

**VatonageShipping (my OTP), BlondeShipping (my ship name for Rhythmi x Isaac since they don't have one), ContestShipping, IkariShipping, PenguinShipping, OldRivalShipping, TwinleafShipping, RangerShipping, BestFriendShipping (I think that's the name for Hero x Partner in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon), SoulSilverShipping (one of my favorites!) and FerrisWheelShipping. I also like Hero x Rival in BW2.**

"_**Is the chapter title from Chapter 2 referencing Isaac?" **_**–Yes… but no. It's obvious it's referencing Isaac, but that's not the answer if you want to win. ****The title is parodying the title of another series.**** Anyone who can guess what it is gets a doodle. Again, the title of that chapter is **_**'A Certain Scientific Mushroom.' **_

"_**Do you have any stories planned for after you finish this one?" **_**–I'll be honest: I have no idea. I've considered doing a Pokémon Ranger 1 fanfic just like this one. I wouldn't be able to do a Guardian Signs, though, since I haven't played the game. After this, I might consider delving into the Harvest Moon fandom; I've been wanting to buy and play Tree of Tranquility again.**

"_**Have you ever heard of/watched Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni?" **_**–I've heard of it, I've read about it—but I've never watched it. It's not my cup of tea.**

"_**Which do you despise more: Kate x Rhythmi or Kellyn x Keith?" **_**–…I… actually don't despise either of them. I'm a multishipper, and I honestly think both of those are pretty cute ships. I might write some Kellyn x Keith one day, it sounds like it'd be fun to do.**

"_**What do you think of Elfen Lied?" **_**–It's one of those things I've heard about, but never actually bothered to research.**

"_**How long does it usually take you to write a chapter?" **_**–If I'm into it, about two to three days. If I'm busy, it can take at least a week. Keep in mind I write this for fun, I get to be really busy during the school year.**

**That's all for questions! As usual, if anyone wants to ask anything, go ahead and drop it in your review. And now, chapter time!**

* * *

_**Chapter Three**_

_**The Ringtown Ranger**_

* * *

It was a colorful fall day, the breeze sending reddish hues of leaves fluttering across the grounds of Ranger Academy. Inside the school, Ms. April's class was all gathered in their homeroom, all chatting and gossiping in excitement about what was to come.

"Settle down, settle down!" Ms. April called as she took the stand at the teacher's desk. "The longer you chatter, the longer it'll take for us to get out of this school and into the courtyard!" Almost immediately, the whole class went quiet—Keith being the last to go silent, of course, as he hurriedly put in his final two bits. Ms. April smiled. "…Now then," she said, "I assume you all know what today is?"

"OUTDOORS CLASS!" the class cheered back, their volume more than making up for their small size. Ms. April beamed more.

"Come on!" Keith shouted. "We wouldn't forget about _Outdoors Class!_"

"That's right!" she said. "Today, we'll be spending the day outside with a visiting Ranger from Vientown. There, you can ask him any questions you like. Of course, there _are _rules… don't ask too many questions, because there are other people who would like to go. Don't ask the Ranger any questions unrelated to his job. And, for Pete's sake, _raise your hand and wait to be chosen _before asking a question."

She gave a pointed look at Keith. "That means you, Mr. Evans." Keith gave his best angel face, but rolled his eyes dramatically when Ms. April turned away.

"With that out of the way," she said, "let's all go outside, class. We're gathering in Ascension Square. Don't make a fuss—Mr. Kincaid's class is studying in their room. They had their Outdoors Class yesterday."

Quickly, the class hurried out of the room, all whispering in excitement. Kate, Keith and Rhythmi hung a few feet back, walking behind the rest of the class.

"_Yahoo!_" Keith said, doing a rather out-of-character skip. "I've been waiting all month for this!"

"…Yahoo?" Rhythmi said, raising an eyebrow. "_Yahoo? _Forgive me if I'm wrong, Keith, but you're _way_ too excited about this."

Kate blinked from her spot in between Keith and Rhythmi. "Come to think of it, Keith," she said, "you thought of thirty-four questions to ask the Ranger, right?"

"Thirty-_eight._" Keith said proudly. "I thought of four more overnight."

Rhythmi made a tsk of disapproval. "I hope you realize you'll only have time for three questions max. Maybe four."

Keith went a bit red in the ears. "S-so I just ask the rest when class is over, before he leaves!" He snapped. "Problem solved!"

Kate laughed nervously, quickly steering the subject around. "B-but… a real Ringtown Ranger, huh?" she said. "I wonder what they'll be like?"

"Cool, strong, calm, collected…" Keith said, ticking off points on his fingers, "…and totally awesome. Like _me, _but with a way cooler uniform."

Rhythmi made a snort of laughter. "…You? Calm and collected?" she said. "You're about as calm and collected as a Vigoroth after eating a Tamato Berry." Keith glared at her, but decided not to dignify her with a response. The three were now in the courtyard, approaching the stairs to Ascension Square.

"How come you aren't excited, Rhyth?" Keith demanded. "This is a _real Ranger _we're talking about here! Like, an official one!"

"Exactly. A _Ranger._" Rhythmi said, putting her nose up in the air. "I'm training to be an _Operator. _I'm not interested in Rangers. All that physical work and grime is so unappealing to me."

"Yes, Arceus forbid you break a nail," Keith muttered, Kate smiling in response.

Rhythmi glared. "Operators are what keep _Rangers _from getting killed on every mission. They're far more important… no offense, Kate."

Before Kate could say "none taken," Keith snarled. "You've gotta be kidding! Without Rangers, nothing would get done! We're definitely more important!"

"G-guys, let's not—" Kate started weakly, but was immediately cut off as the two started to bicker over her head.

Kate sighed as the trio went down the stairs, praying that Ms. April would be able to get the two to shut up.

* * *

They were gathered at Ascension Square, a clear plot of land with a nice view of the ocean, a small, dingy dock and a huge stone statue in the shape of a Ranger holding out his Styler directly in front of him, an Operator holding her clipboard, and a Mechanic, holding his wrench and toolbox with pride. The figures stood on a stone platform that was about five feet tall, a small set of stairs leading up to the actual statue. It, not counting the platform, was easily fifteen feet tall, maybe twenty at most. There, the class was gathered around the beloved, much idolized Ranger they had all been waiting anxiously for the whole month.

_Hair._

That was Kate's first thought.

The man in front of them looked fairly young—twenty five, maybe twenty six. He was tall and lanky, with a slightly large nose. He was wearing a uniform that consisted of a white shirt, a red jacket with yellow cuffs, black shorts with the same cuffs and red shoes that looked beaten up, but still quite usable. A red Styler with an official Union seal was on his belt. The most memorable detail about this man, though, was his _hair—_he had a huge brown afro, curls bouncing all around his head. Surrounding him were three Pokémon—a Bellossom, a Cherubi, and a Combee.

Rhythmi looked even less impressed than Kate, who just looked… shocked. "An afro." she mumbled. "The man has an afro." Keith, however, was unfazed, practically vibrating from his seat next to Kate.

"Alright, class, settle down!" Ms. April called. "This is Crawford. He's a Ranger at Vientown Base… Crawford, would you like to introduce yourself?"

"You got it, Ms. April!" Crawford said. He grinned around at the students. "Like she said, the name's Crawford. I've been a Ranger for about eight years, now, and it's a pretty great job!" He gestured to the three Pokémon surrounding him. "These here are the Friend Pokémon I captured on my walk here! Now, who can tell me what Friend Pokémon are?" Rhythmi raised her hand. "Yes, the lovely lady in the back with the big blonde do!"

Rhythmi cleared her throat before putting her nose in the air and saying proudly, "Friend Pokémon are Pokémon that are captured by Rangers with their Capture Styler. These Pokémon can be used to power up the Styler, clear obstacles, or aid the progression of a Mission in other ways. However, once a Friend Pokémon has served its purpose, the Styler automatically releases it."

Keith glared at Rhythmi before muttering, "You quoted that right out of the bloody textbook."

Crawford, not noticing this, smiled more. "And now, I'd like to introduce you all to one last friend of mine…"

He grinned more, going silent. The students all looked around, craning their heads to see if anyone was nearby. When it became clear there was no person or Pokémon in sight, they started to mumble amongst themselves in confusion.

The mumbles turned to cries of alarm when Crawford's afro started rustling.

Rhythmi yelped, "what in the-?!" while Keith simply let out a _"cool!" _Kate just stared with wide eyes, gulping as the afro moved and squirmed. And then—

"Bud_ew!_"

A little Pokémon popped its head out of the afro, several students screaming when it did so. It was green, with a cute little yellow face, the top of its body looking like a bud.

"Ahh," Crawford said, cackling a bit as he removed the Pokémon from his hair, "that never gets old. This is my Partner Pokémon, Budew!"

All the students (besides the more mentally scarred ones) cheered and gave applause. Ms. April let out a shaky sigh, looking a bit pale.

"Honestly, Crawford," she said, "would you at least _consider _cutting your hair? It gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Crawford laughed. "You always did have a weakness for overgrown, tangled things, Ms. April," he said. Then, with a look at the students, "Ms. April here was actually my teacher all those years ago. She nearly fainted when she saw me—and on her first day on the job, too!" Ms. April blushed, hissing at him. Crawford ignored her. "Anyway, now for the fun part… question time! Who wants to go first?"

Several students raised their hands, Keith almost shaking with the effort to not blurt out all thirty-eight of his questions. However, Crawford didn't pick him. "You there!" he said, pointing at a brunette boy.

"You said Partner Pokémon, right?" the boy asked. "What does that mean?"

"I'm glad you asked, teenage male!" Crawford said happily. "A Partner Pokémon is basically a Pokémon that a Ranger has a deep bond with. Unlike just capturing Pokémon, using them once, and then releasing them, Partner Pokémon are always with you."

"So!" the boy pressed. "If you were friends with lots of Pokémon, you could take them with you all the time?!"

"Bzzzt!" Crawford responded, putting his arms in an X shape. "Wrong-o! The laws of the Union state that a Ranger may only have one Partner Pokémon with them at any given time! Sure, you COULD have lots of different Pokémon, but you could only take one with you on duty!" The student huffed a bit at that, but went silent. "Next?"

Keith's hand once again shot up as fast as a rocket, but Crawford looked to another. "Yes, you, with the pink ribbon!"

"Yes!" The brunette girl with a big pink ribbon in her hair said. "Mr. Crawford, why did you decide to become a Pokémon Ranger?"

Crawford smiled. "Well, I suppose it's all because I love Pokémon," he said. "I want to become friends with them. To bond with them—and what better way to do that by working side by side with them, protecting society from evil with them? Plus," he continued, grinning, "it's just a hell of a cool job!"

"A-_hem,_" Ms. April coughed, giving a pointed glare at Crawford.

Crawford smiled nervously in response. "…Heck," he corrected. "A-alright, who next?"

Keith seemed to nearly break his neck this time raising his hand. Despite the effort, though, Crawford turned to an ebony-haired girl. "Yes, Ms. Ponytail over there!"

"Thanks!" she said. "Well, I wanna know for future training simulations… what kinds of Pokémon are difficult to capture?"

"Hmm," Crawford mused. "That's a toughie. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to capturing. But if we're speaking strictly for me… Definitely Psychic and Ghost-type Pokémon. You see, they have a nasty habit of teleporting outside the Capture Loop. Now, that won't make any trouble for a Ranger who's good at analyzing the situation and knowing where to move the Disc so you don't lose the Pokémon, but… well, I'm not very good at that."

"Just like what happened to us…" Kate whispered to Keith. He nodded quickly, before raising his hand once more… however, this time Kate joined him.

Crawford looked over, pointing at Kate. "Yes, Ms. Spiky over there!"

Keith glared daggers at Kate that screamed "mutiny." Kate gulped, ignoring him as she spoke.

"U-um," she said shakily, "H-how exactly does b-being a Ranger w-w-work?"

Crawford blinked. "Hey now, no need to be afraid! I don't bite!" he said. "But strictly speaking, here's how it works. Typical Rangers work under a Base Leader. Those Base Leaders issue missions, which we carry out. When we don't have a mission to be working on, we patrol our given area, helping out citizens and basically keeping the order."

Kate nodded carefully. "Y-yes… I understand." She said. Crawford grinned in response.

Next up, much to Keith's chagrin, was Rhythmi. "Alright then, smarty-pants! What do you have to ask?" Crawford said.

"No offense to you, sir," Rhythmi said, her voice dripping with offense, "but in the long run, Operators are more vital to the overall operation than Rangers, right? We relay information, missions, we analyze situations… without us, Rangers would be virtually useless, right?"

Keith let out an 'oh!' of indignation.

Crawford blinked. "…Well… you have a point," he said. "But without us Rangers, who would you Operators be talking to?"

Rhythmi's smug look quickly fell. "…W-well," she said. "T-that's…"

Crawford smiled.

"…I'm not going to say Rangers are superior to Operators," he said. "But I'm not going to say Operators are superior to Rangers, either. They're both equally important, and neither can survive without the other. They both aid and support each other. Of course, though, it isn't a two way balance—you also have Mechanics." Two of the students—specifically, the two Mechanic students—grinned and nodded in agreement. "These three depend on each other—it's that balance that the Ranger System flourishes and thrives on."

Rhythmi looked down, completely silent. Crawford smiled more—then he walked over, patting her head.

"…You'll understand one day," he said. "Heck, there's a whole lesson on it. Once you accept you're not the most important, the whole world seems to put itself into perspective."

Rhythmi was quiet a bit longer. Finally, though, she gave a small nod.

"…Alright!" Crawford said, striding over to his original spot. "Anyone else?"

Keith's hand shot up, accompanied by a loud "ME!"

Crawford, along with the rest of the group, jumped a little. After a beat, Crawford let out a loud laugh. "Alright then!" he said. "You there, with the flaming hair!"

Keith's whole face lit up. "Yes!" he said happily. "I've got thirty-eight questions! But the first one—the most important one—that question is—!"

He was abruptly cut off by a loud beeping noise coming from Crawford's belt.

"Ah—" Crawford said, reaching for his Styler. "Hold that thought, kid."

He took out the Styler, hitting a button. A screen slid open, and suddenly a voice could be heard coming from the machine.

"_Crawford!" _The voice was deep and burly, obviously belonging to a man. _"Are you still at the school?"_

"Correct-a-mundo, Chief," Crawford answered, stroking Budew. "What's up?"

"_We've got trouble," _the voice answered. _"Some fishermen thought it'd be a good idea to go into Mantine territory. It's illegal to fish there, but they thought they could make a quick buck since there's rumors of treasure in that area. Anyway, they dropped nets to pick up some treasure they found—but a Mantine got caught up, and now it's stuck."_

The students were buzzing with excitement, their combined murmurs making a steady hum of noise. _"The fishermen have been arrested, but the Mantine is still tangled—plus, it's injured a fin in the boat's propeller," _the voice continued. _"Sorry, Crawford, but Outdoor Class will have to be cut short. Luana's already en route to the Academy's dock to pick you up."_

"Roger that, Chief!" Crawford grinned. "This is Crawford, signing off!" He hit a button, the Styler powering down. "Sorry, kids—looks like I've gotta end it here."

The class groaned a bit, but nonetheless, they looked excited as they witnessed a real mission being issued.

Keith, on the other hand, looked like his heart had just been ripped out his chest, chewed up, spit out, and then stepped on.

Just then, the loud noise of a boat's jet could be heard. The class all looked to see a figure there—it was hard to make out, but from the size and sound of the voice, it seemed to be a young woman.

"CRAW_FORD!_" the girl shouted. "Let's go! We've got work to do!"

"Roger that, Lu!" Crawford yelled in response, his mood seeming to improve tenfold. "Well, see you later, guys!"

He ran to the boat with his Pokémon, leaping off the dock and onto the deck—and the class watched as the boat sped off, leaving only rippling water in its wake.

A long silence ensued, the whole class watching as the boat slowly faded out of view.

"…That," a boy finally said, "was _so cool._"

* * *

"_Arceus!" _Keith yelled at the sky. "Thirty-eight questions! Thirty-eight _fucking _questions I had to ask that Ranger—and I couldn't ask one of them!"

"Calm down, Keith," Rhythmi said, "all that yelling's gonna make me lose my appetite."

It was nightfall, the stars blinking into view. Kate, Keith and Rhythmi had decided to carry their dinner all the way to Ascension Square. They were alone—Kate was sitting on the ground next to the platform, Rhythmi on the stairs so as not to get dirty. Keith, of course deciding to be a rebel, had climbed up and was perched on the toolbox of the Mechanic about halfway up the statue.

"Is it really ok for us to be here?" Kate said nervously.

Keith rolled his eyes. "Naahh, it'll be fine," he said. "Everyone's too busy talking their heads off about that Mantine thing. They won't miss us as long as we make bedtime curfew." He grinned at Rhythmi. "I have to say, though—it was pretty nice seeing Rhyth get chewed out by that Ranger."

Rhythmi blushed, glaring up at him. "I was _not _chewed out!" she snapped. "He just corrected me about a mistake I made about how the Ranger-Operator-Mechanic system works—!"

"Liar, liar, tail on fire," Keith sang gleefully.

Rhythmi huffed. "Can it," she said. Then she looked at the sky, smiling. "I'm going to be the best Operator in the world. A Top Operator."

Kate blinked. "A Top Operator… W-wah!" she flinched, looking a bit intimidated. "A-aren't there only two Top Operators right now, though?! S-shouldn't you aim a bit lower first…?"

Rhythmi looked at her, smiling. "And why should I?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. "Go big or go home. I want to help people all around the world with my _fabulous _communication skills."

Keith snorted. "Yeah," he retorted, "I'll let you know if Godzilla decided to take over Almia. I'm sure you'd be able to communicate with him."

Rhythmi threw an apple at his head with surprising accuracy, considering he was eight feet up. Kate laughed nervously in response, but when Keith recovered, he spoke at Kate.

"Ow-ow-ow… a-anyway, what about you, Kate?" He asked, looking at the sky. "Don't you wanna be a Top Ranger?"

"…I wonder," Kate murmured, leaning back. "I mean… I didn't come here with big dreams or anything. I-I guess I just wanted to _do _something. I wanted to leave the ocean, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to…" she sighed. "…It's hard to explain, I guess… but… I want to do something. But I don't know what that 'something' is yet. I feel like it's there, but… I just can't see it."

Keith looked down at her, eyes wide. Rhythmi blinked at the girl, equally surprised—and confused. "…Kate…" she murmured.

Kate blushed, stammering. "I-I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "I-I must sound ridiculous, right?! F-forget I said anyth—"

"_Alright _then!"

"H-huh?"

Kate and Rhythmi looked up at the source of the sudden outburst to see Keith. He was standing now, grinning like a madman down at them.

"You don't know what to do, right? You said that you 'can't see it,'" he said. "So, what does that mean? It means you're not high enough."

"I certainly think _someone's _high," Rhythmi muttered.

"Can it, Blythe. Anyway!" Keith said, pointing down at Kate. "It's like a skyscraper, right? From the bottom, you can only see what's around you. But when you climb higher—and _higher—_you can see more and more of what's really there! And so, by _that _logic…"

He smirked, moving the finger pointing at her up towards the sky.

"…You reach the _top! _Then you can see everything—_including _this weird life purpose you've got. You get me?"

Kate was frozen in place, staring up at him. "…I… I-I think I do," she said uncertainly.

Keith grinned, climbing quickly down from the Mechanic's belt to the ground. "Good!" he said. "So aim for the top—namely, being a Top Ranger!"

"W—" Kate squeaked. "W-WHAT?! I-impossible! D-definitely, p-positively impossible! I-I could never…!"

"You _can,_" Keith pressed, "if you just quit acting so damn modest."

A silence fell, Kate looking down at her shoes. Finally, though, Rhythmi cleared her throat.

"You know," she said nonchalantly. "There's a legend about this statue. It says something along the lines of… 'If you confess your dreams to your friends at this statue, and make a promise to fulfill them, you will definitely reach your goal.' Or something cheesy like that."

"Well _there we go!_" Keith said triumphantly. "Rhythmi's already told us her weird dream to save the world with communication, and Kate's told us about her weird dream-she-hasn't-quite-found-yet. So now all we gotta do is promise!"

"H-hey!" Kate said, huffing a bit. "T-that's not fair, Keith! Y-you haven't told us your dream!"

"Huh? Oh, I guess not," Keith said. Then, with a grin—"I want to protect people. Be a hero, y'know? I wanna look evil in the eye and then laugh in its face!" Rhythmi scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling slightly at the sincerity.

"So!" Keith continued. He held out a hand. "Let's promise, right here. To definitely fulfill our dreams no matter what!"

Kate stared at the hand, wondering to herself. Was it… really possible to become a Top Ranger? It seemed so otherworldly, further out of her grasp than the moon itself.

…But…

She gulped, putting her hand over Keith's. "…O-OK," she said. "I-I promise."

The two both looked at Rhythmi, who was looking on with her arms crossed.

"…Oh, al_right,_" she sighed, putting her hand over theirs, "I _promise. _Not that I need to, of course."

A beat, in which they all stood rather awkwardly with their hands gathered in the middle.

Then they started laughing.

"G-geez," Keith sniggered, pulling his hand back, "that was so corny."

"I-it was _your _idea!" Kate laughed.

"Shut up!" Keith said. Then he grinned more. "…Hey, Kate," he said, "wanna have a race?"

Rhythmi blinked. "What kind of race?" she said. "Like, at the training grounds? They're closed by now."

"Nope," Keith said. Then he pointed up the statue. "…First one to the top wins."

Kate squeaked a bit. "K-Keith!" she said quickly, "That's dangerous!"

Keith smirked. "What is it, Katie?" he purred, leaning in. "You're not… _scared, _are you?"

Kate gulped, shrinking meekly. Rhythmi just looked on in amusement.

"…A-alright," she finally said, nodding, "I-I'll do it. B-but I'm blaming you if I fall!"

Keith cackled. "You better pray to Arceus, because there's no one faster at climbing than me," he said. "Yo, Rhyth, you'll be the judge?"

"Roger that," Rhythmi said with a winning smile. "And lucky for you both, I knew this would happen… so I brought my binoculars to watch you when you get high up. I can't tell who will win from all the way down here."

Keith's eyes narrowed. "Blonde with binoculars," he said. "Creepy."

Rhythmi stuck out her tongue. "Both of you take your marks at the steps," she commanded.

Kate and Keith both walked to the staircase of the platform, taking their starting positions.

"…Ready," Rhythmi said slowly, "set… GO!"

They took off, the two students reaching the statue and starting their climb simultaneously. Keith scaled the statue with ease, seeming to make footholds out of thin air, while Kate barely managed to scramble her way up. That being said, the winner was clear—flipping and swinging and jumping his way up, Keith was at the top of the Ranger's head in no time. Kate managed to make her way all the way up the Ranger's neck, and was just about to climb up the ear to the head.

And that was when she looked down.

Immediately, her hands went cold, her body seeming to go numb as the feeling of being alone took over. Everything became a blur: the ground underneath, Rhythmi's form at the bottom of the platform, the sound of Keith's whoops of victory. She hated this feeling—the feeling of being scared to death that she would do something, _anything _wrong, and that no one would be there to save her.

No one.

"Wh—_Kate! _Are you OK?!"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers. The grasp was firm, and it was like an anchor, suddenly pulling Kate out of the trance. But most of all—most of all, the touch was _warm. _It was so unlike her own hands, which were cold and shaking from the fear.

Kate blinked rapidly as she met Keith's gaze. "Are you OK?!" he repeated urgently. "C'mon, I'll help you up! Just get your foot on a good hold!"

Kate stared for a moment as she finally came back to Earth. Then she nodded very slightly, hanging on to him.

Slowly, steadily, she made her way up the final steps, Keith pulling her up onto the Ranger's head.

"…S-sorry," Keith said, panting. "I-I shouldn't have made you—"

"N-no!" Kate cut him off. "I-it's… f… f-fine…"

Kate's voice slowly faded out as she noticed what was around her. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight.

"…Huh?" Keith blinked, following her gaze. "What is… it…" His eyes also widened at what he saw.

From the top of the statue, they could see everything. The ocean, waves slowly crashing with boats that looked as small as her pinky finger floating on the horizon, the forest, bird Pokémon calling and fluttering as they went to bed, the faintest outline of Vientown in the far distance—and the Ranger Academy, lights twinkling as the other students feasted on their dinner.

"…I can see everything from up here…" Kate murmured.

Keith laughed slightly, replying, "Yeah, and we'll be able to see a _lot _more once we've graduated. And then we'll be real Rangers, and then Top Rangers…" He grinned, looking at Kate. "And you know what? It'll be—"

He stopped short when he saw her.

Kate was wearing an expression she'd never had before. She was smiling—only this was different from the happy, nervous smile she got when she made a friend, or the sheepish one she gave when she'd received a compliment. No, this was different. Far different. She was smiling joyfully, her face filled with wonder, excitement, interest. Her pale blue eyes seemed ten times brighter, reflecting off everything: the lights from the Academy in the distance, the large, expansive ocean, the dazzling stars above them… it was as if those blue irises were trying to sear everything into the brunette's memory before it all left. Pale cheeks were flushed a lively pink, and her brown hair, while still tied up in the usual spiked twintails, was slightly messy, her bangs falling in front of her eyes, and the two loose pieces of hair she usually left neatly framing her face blowing slightly in the wind.

It was ten times better than the view of the landscape.

Keith's mouth dropped open slightly, his ears going red. His hands shook very slightly as he tried to regain control of the parts of his brain that had just seemed to shut down. Just then, thought, Kate looked at him—the shining, eager blue eyes trained directly on him.

"…What were you going to say, Keith?" she said, her voice still as impossibly soft as always. "You said, 'it'll be…' what?"

"…U-uh," Keith said, horrified that he couldn't find the ability to form words or access his memory. The redness in his ears spread—he felt the warmth spread to his cheeks. "I-I said it'll… u-uh, I mean, that's, I… I-I said, um…"

He gulped deeply, finally managing to speak and remember. "G-great! I-it'll… i-it'll be great."

Kate blinked, staring at him.

And then she smiled.

"…Y… yeah!" she said happily. "I-it will!"

Keith stammered, shocked at how they had somehow switched places. He wasn't supposed to stammer! _Kate _was the one who stammered! "I-I—w-well, yeah, t-that's—I-I, uh—_RHYTHMIIII!_"

The redhead tore his gaze off Kate to look down at the blonde below. "Y-you wanna come up here?!" he yelled. "The view's awesome!"

Rhythmi gave a thumbs up from her position at the platform, looking up at them with her binoculars. "Nope!" she said, her voice positively _ringing _with glee. "I'm perfectly happy with the view I've got here!"

Keith scoffed. "What _fucking _view?!" he demanded. "You're just staring at us with bino…"

The redness in his cheeks spread to his neck as it hit him.

"WE'RE GETTING DOWN, KATE!" he bellowed, starting to jump down.

"A-ah, sure—w-wait!" she called, panicking a bit. "H-help me get down! I-I'm not a Mankey like you!"

But the calls went unheard to Keith as he sped down the statue as fast as possible, trying desperately to erase everything that had just happened from his memory.


	5. The Stolen Stylers

**Welcome back to another chapter of **_**Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia! **_**I'm your **_**fabulous **_**host, Momoko Harukaze. As always, before we move on, I'm going to answer some questions. **

"_**Will there be Luana and Crawford shipping in this story?" **_**–I don't always spoil things, but when I do, it involves Crawford and Luana. (So yes, there will be.)**

"_**What would a Kellyn x Keith fanfic be like?" **_**–My Kellyn headcanon is basically an upbeat, optimistic kid with a cheerful outlook on life. If I wrote a fanfic for them, it'd involve lots of bromance banter, cute comebacks, and Keith going through the hilarious struggle of "wait, am I gay?"**

"_**Will you ever think of doing requested oneshots?" **_**–If I wrote every oneshot idea someone gives me, my fingers would fall off. But I've been thinking about opening story commissions—people pay me to write their oneshot ideas. I'm a broke high school student who wants a 3DS and oil paints.**

"_**What do you think of RedemptionShipping? (Silver x Crystal/Kris)" **_**–I'm not a big fan, to be honest. I support Kris x Ethan way more. I see Lyra as a cute, bubbly, sweet and warm girl, and that goes well with Silver's cold, grumbly and antisocial personality (I love the whole opposites attract thing in case you can't tell). My Kris headcanon is more a cool, mature, level headed chick while Ethan is a kind, mischievous, friendly and naughty boy.**

"_**What do you think of all the X and Y stuff?" **_**–Diagonal walking, amazing scenery, character customization (BIG step in racial inclusion with the dark skinned characters!), beautiful NPC designs, sitting on benches, 3D Pokémon models and action, awesome-looking new Pokémon designs so far… what's not to like? I'm hyped for the game. I tend to focus on how things look—the scenery, character design, graphics—and so far, that's all making me foam at the mouth for XY.**

"_**What are some of your favorite Pokémon?" **_**–It's embarrassing, but I have a really big soft spot for cute/beautiful looking Pokémon. Despite that, though, my top two favorites are Shroomish and Magnemite (along with its second evolved form, Magneton). I currently have a powerhouse Magneton in my Pokémon Black 2 file (named it Mimi), and it's one of my best Pokémon. Shroomish is just adorable to me.**

"_**Have you ever noticed that Kate would be Maka and that Keith would be Soul from Soul Eater?" **_**–Excuse me while I draw the fuck out of that.**

"_**What are some of your favorite animes? Have you heard of the Pokémon Special anime?" **_**–my favorite anime of all time is CardCaptor Sakura. I also love Nichijou, K-ON!, Chuunibyou, Free!, and S.A. Special A. I've heard of the Pokémon Special anime project, and I'm thinking about trying to get involved with the art and writing aspect. I don't know if I'll be able to make time though.**

"_**Do you support WishfulShipping? (Cilan x Iris)" **_**–Why yes, yes I do. It's a cute pairing.**

"_**Do you like FranticShipping?" **_**–Yes. I haven't read much of the Pokémon Special manga though.**

"_**Are you getting Pokémon X or Y?" **_**–Pokémon Y.**

"_**What do you think of Pokephilia?" —**_**I don't know what that is. Let's check.**

…**Oh.**

_**Oh.**_

_**Oh my.**_

"_**What do you think of Pokéshipping?" **_**–It's cute? I don't really see it though. I like Misty x Tracey more.**

"_**Have you ever thought of doing one of those Pokémon talk show fanfics?" **_**–No, never. I'm more of a serious story writer; "talk shows" aren't really stories in my opinion. I find them funny, and I like reading them—it's fun to see how people interpret characters. But it's just not my cup of tea when it comes to my own writing.**

…**And that's all the questions! Next, we have a winner to the chapter title contest! That winner is Crossroader32! They were the first person to guess what the chapter title was parodying—the answer was the anime series **_**"A Certain Scientific Railgun." **_**They'll be getting a doodle of their choice from me, which will be posted on my art tumblr. Congratulations! **

**Finally, much thanks to my good friend Brendan for editing this chapter! From now on, he's the official editor for this fanfic, so go ahead and ask him questions. He'll answer them the same way I do. So ask him anything at all, whether it be about my grammar habits, my goofy mistakes, what it's like being my editor…**

…**I'm starting to regret giving this guy a Q&A spot.**

**Enough talking, though—here's your chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

_**The Stolen Stylers**_

* * *

"Good morning, Keith."

"GAAHH!"

Keith jumped about a foot into the air as he whipped around from his spot at the cafeteria line to see Rhythmi behind him. "God_dammit, _Rhyth!" he gasped, clutching his heart. "Could you gimme a little _warning _next time?!"

"I don't know _what _you're talking about," Rhythmi said, smiling innocently. Keith grumbled, wanting to whack the invisible halo she was wearing right off her smug little blonde head.

"So?" Keith said, grabbing some fruit. "What are you doing here at this time? I'm usually the only one up now." What he said rang true, as there were only a few students up and about getting breakfast. The rest were either still sleeping or just getting ready. Keith had always had an irregular, scattered sleep schedule: bedtime at one AM, waking at five AM, and tiny scattered naps in between. He didn't need that much sleep to function. Kate usually slept till seven, then got dressed and ready within twenty minutes. Rhythmi woke at the same time, only she took a _lot _more time with her morning ritual of hair, makeup, and dressing. All in all, the three usually didn't all gather until about seven thirty—a half hour before classes began.

Keith looked at the clock. Five fifty-six in the morning. He looked back at Rhythmi, raising an eyebrow. "You're up _way _too early."

"So are you," Rhythmi replied easily. "Couldn't sleep? Something on your mind?"

"I'm always up at this time," Keith sighed, wishing the blonde would quit beating around the bush. "But _you _don't even wake up until around seven. And even then, it takes you forever to do your weird daily makeup routine. What's going on?"

Rhythmi looked offended. "What?" she cried, her voice dripping with hurt. "I can't take the trouble to wake up early in order to spend time with my dear, _precious _friend Keith Evans?"

Keith looked at her.

A beat.

"…Alright, alright, you got me," Rhythmi huffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm _not _here to spend cuddly time with you."

"As expected," Keith replied, walking with his tray of food to a table. Rhythmi followed after, sitting next to him.

Rhythmi continued, "I want to talk about someone. Specifically, a brunette someone."

The redhead blinked. "Kate?" he guessed, confused. "What about her?"

"What do you think of her?" The blonde demanded. Keith blinked, obviously taken off guard by the sudden questioning. "Come on, tell me. What do you think of Kate?

"Uh," Keith said, popping a grape into his mouth. "She's…cool? I mean, she's smart, fun to be around, nice…" He blinked in bewilderment when Rhythmi nodded intently, clinging to his every word. "Err, she's good at studying, she's a great Capturer—well, not as good as me—and she's pretty level headed where it counts." He took a bite out of his apple, looking up. "Ah, but she could learn to stand up for herself a little more. And to ease up on all the polite-speak…"

"So you have a crush on her, right?"

He choked.

"I—" Keith coughed, managing to swallow the overly-sized chunk of apple that had been lodged in his throat. _"What?" _Rhythmi was staring, her big blue eyes glittering.

"You have a crush on her. Ohmigod. You _so _have a crush on her," the blonde said with glee, bouncing in her seat.

"I-I do _not!_" Keith replied hotly. "W-what the _hell _makes you say that, anyway!?"

"Oh my gosh, this is _so cute!_" Rhythmi squealed, standing from her seat and jumping up and down in a tizzy. "Keith, the egoistic, overconfident, most _stubborn _student of Ranger Academy _having a crush _on Kate, the shy, meek, quiet new girl in the school! It's straight out of a romance nove—"

"Rhyth," Keith said firmly, interrupting her rant, "I have _no idea _what you're talking about."

Rhythmi sat back down, looking at him intently. "Oh, but, it's so _ob_vious," she said breathlessly.

"No, it's not," Keith replied, biting his toast, "because we're _just friends._"

"Right. So you're going to ask her out?"

"I think you need a refresher on the definition of 'friend.'"

Rhythmi groaned. "But _Keith,_" she said mournfully.

"_Rhythmi," _he replied in the same tone, mocking her as he lifted his Oran juice to drink. "There's nothing to it, I told you. Kate and I are just friends."

The blonde grumbled, folding her arms on the table and resting her head on them. "But that's so _boring,_" she mumbled. "I mean, the look you were giving her on top of that statue last week…"

Keith just barely managed to hide the slight choke he had on his juice as his heart staggered a bit.

Great. He'd spent this whole week erasing that from his memory, but with one passing mention of the incident it all came rushing back. Her face, her hair, her voice—but most importantly, her _eyes. _They'd been so bright, so curious, so—_different. _Like they were eager to swallow up and memorize everything they laid their gaze on.

Gulping down the last of his drink, Keith shook his head and stood, picking up his empty tray.

"L-look," he said, "I don't care _what _you think, but it's wrong. I only think of Kate as a friend. That's not gonna change."

Rhythmi let out a 'tsk' of disdain, but said nothing more on the subject. "Fine, fine," she said, also standing. "I gotta wake up Kate anyway. See you in class?"

"Yeah," Keith said, putting his tray away. "I'll see you there."

* * *

Kate yawned as she and Rhythmi walked down the hall to class. Rhythmi shook her gently.

"Wake up, sweetie," she said. "Ms. April only needs one slacker in class."

Kate yawned more. "Sorry," she managed. "I'm just… so… sleepy."

Rhythmi frowned. "I warned you not to stay up all night reading that comic book," she said.

"B-but it was so good!" Kate insisted. "I-I need to ask Keith for the next volume…"

"Just don't read it in class," Rhythmi advised, "Ms. April _also _only needs one comic book reader." Kate giggled nervously in response.

The two girls walked into the classroom just as everyone was taking their seats.

"Keith!" Kate called as she sat down. "I finished the volume you lent me. Oh, it was so interesting, you have to lend me the next one. I need to know what happens with Red and Blu—"

She turned to Keith's seat, only to find he wasn't there. She'd been talking to thin air. Kate went red as the student behind her sniggered, but quickly distracted herself by turning to look at Rhythmi, who was a few seats away.

"R-Rhyth," she said, "where's Keith?"

Rhythmi shrugged, looking equally confused. "Don't know," she replied. "He told me I'd see him in class…" Kate blinked at that.

"Huh?" she said. "Rhythmi, you saw him?" Rhythmi jumped, smiling nervously and waving it off as she realized Kate hadn't known of her and Keith's conversation.

"N-no, it's nothing," she said hurriedly. "I wonder where Keith is, though…"

Kate opened her mouth to reply, but just then Ms. April took her spot at the desk. "OK, class!" she called. "Before we begin, I have an announcement. The Mantine that Crawford left to rescue has been saved!" The whole class cheered as she continued, "The Ranger Union took it in and nursed it back to health. Just this morning, the Mantine was safely returned to the ocean!"

The class started chattering in excitement, singing their praises for Crawford. Ms. April cleared her throat though, effectively causing the class to go quiet. "…Now then," she said. "Today is a very important lesson. Specifically, one involving the relationship between Ranger and Operator."

All the students (save for the Mechanics) lit up and started chattering. Kate also looked a bit eager, but she kept glancing nervously at Keith's empty chair. It seemed off—at this time, Keith would make some derogatory remark about how he didn't need Operators, how he could work solo, no problem.

Ms. April smiled. "Today, we'll be learning about the Voicemail System. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Rhythmi, for once, didn't raise her hand—so Ms. April called on another student. "Yes, Joseph?"

"The Voicemail System is, uh…" the chosen student said uncertainly, "the way that Rangers and Operators communicate when Rangers are in the field, right?"

Ms. April smiled. "Correct!" she said. "Specifically, it's the system that connects a Ranger's Styler and an Operator's device—whether it be a laptop they'll use in the field or a central computer at their base." She crossed the room as she spoke, going into lecture mode.

"If there is no trust between a Ranger and an Operator, the results can be disastrous," she said seriously, "even a simple patrol mission could become impossible to manage." She crossed the room again. "Rangers venture where there are no roads. They go into the oceans, forests, mountains—the lairs of criminals, even. The Operator's job is to guide and advise them. They also recharge Rangers' Stylers for them, provide information… They reach out to Rangers all over the world. That communication system is Voicemail, which we will be demonstrating today. Voicemail is not only used between Rangers and Operators—it's used solely between Rangers as well.

"Of course," Ms. April continued, "your School Stylers aren't fitted with the Voicemail system. Therefore, I've borrowed two official Stylers from Vientown for us to use today. They both have the Voicemail feature turned on. Principal Lamont went to a lot of trouble to get these—he went all the way down to the Union to ask for them in person."

The class started talking eagerly, excited for the chance to use real Stylers. Ms April spoke up, her voice rising over the din. "Now then! I think we'll start with Rhythmi playing the Operator and Keith playing the Ranger. Both of you, come up!"

Rhythmi stood, the worry fading from her face the minute she was called. Kate's expression, however, only grew more nervous.

"U-um," she said tentatively, raising her hand, "K-Keith isn't here."

Ms. April blinked. "…Hm," she mused, "I knew it was too quiet here… where could he be?"

"Probably sleeping somewhere in the library!" A boy called, laughing.

"Shut it!" Rhythmi snapped, glaring. "You know as well as the rest of us that Keith would _never _miss class!" The boy immediately shut his mouth, looking quite surprised at the blonde's standing up for Keith.

"Well," Ms. April sighed, although she also looked worried, "it can't be helped. Kate, would you please play the Ranger?"

Kate squeaked, jumping up. "Y-yes!" she exclaimed, "O-of course!"

Both the girls took a Styler, switching them on. The screens lit up, showing the Ranger Union's symbol. "Alright," Ms. April guided, "Kate, you go to the other side of the room. Then, both of you hit the 'Voicemail' button on the Styler. The Styler ID numbers should be the only ones installed in your contacts, so press those. Your Stylers should automatically connect."

Kate crossed to the far side of the room, by the classroom door, and the two girls followed instructions. The screens of the Stylers changed, showing each of their faces.

"Hellooo!" Rhythmi sang, her voice coming out loud and clear from Kate's Styler. "Can you hear me?"

Kate nodded, smiling. "Y-yeah!" she said eagerly. "A-and you?"

"Loud and clear."

Ms. April smiled. "Thank you for demonstrating, girls," she said. "Now, please give the Stylers back, and we'll continue with—"

She was cut off, though, by a sudden cry from Kate's end of the room, followed by a loud 'THUMP' and a "Ms. April, I need to talk with you."

Everyone turned to see Mr. Kincaid and a rather stunned Kate sprawled on the floor next to him, most likely due to being whacked by the door.

Ms. April blinked. "Why, Mr. Kincaid," she said. "What brings you here?"

"…We have a situation," Kincaid said, looking rather irritated. "I need to speak to Mr. Evans."

"K-Keith's… n-not here…" Kate managed through her mouthful of floor.

"…Not here, you say…" Kincaid mused, looking even more distressed. Ms. April stepped forward.

"Has something happened, Mr. Kincaid?" she asked. "Why do you need one of my students?"

"Well," Kincaid said, sighing as he ran a hand through his stiff blonde hair, "you're aware of the fact that we keep a numerous supply of School Stylers in a crate in the staff room, correct?"

Most of the class nodded, murmuring amongst themselves. It was common knowledge that all unused School Stylers were under guard in the staff room in the case of a Ranger student's broken, malfunctioned or lost Styler. Ms. April nodded with her class, not looking any less confused. "Yes, of course I'm aware," she said. "Your point?"

"…They're gone," Mr. Kincaid said grimly. "Vanished. One of my student's Stylers malfunctioned, so I went to get him a new one… and they were nowhere in sight. They've just disappeared from the crate."

The class' mumbling rose in volume as they got more and more excited. Ms. April hushed them before saying, "You're sure you didn't just miss them?"

"Positive," he said, looking offended at the very idea, "I triple-checked. What's more, I found dirty boot prints going from the basement. Someone took the Stylers. That's a fact." He huffed, looking away. "…Naturally, I thought of who would do such a thing… and my first thought was the school prankster, Mr. Evans. And now you say he's not here…"

"H-hey!" Rhythmi cried, stepping forward. "Keith may be a jerk, hothead, prankster, and big dummy overall, but he is _no _thief!"

Kincaid raised an eyebrow. "I believe you cast more suspicion on him than not with that statement, Ms. Blythe," he said.

"R-Rhythmi is right!" Kate insisted, standing from the floor. "K-Keith would never, ever do something like that!"

Kincaid scoffed, not replying. Just then, Ms. April cleared her throat.

"Mr. Kincaid," she said, "while I can admit you have a point to your reasoning, I can't say that Keith would ever steal something as important as our school Stylers. He's just not that kind of boy." She looked up at him as she walked over. "Could you allow me some time? I'll go search for him."

Kincaid huffed. "I can't allow you t—" he started.

Ms. April looked up, sparks seeming to come from her eyes as she gave off a look that clearly said, _'Don't provoke me.'_

A beat, then Kincaid coughed before saying, "…I suppose I could allow you an hour. _One _hour, mind."

Ms. April smiled sweetly. "Thank you," she replied.

A student stood up, piping, "I'll go search the training grounds!" Immediately, all the other students followed, all yelling about how they would also help.

Ms. April gave her permission, and soon the room was empty, Kincaid grumbling as he returned to his affairs. Rhythmi ran to Kate, grabbing her shoulder. "Kate!" she exclaimed. "You ok?!"

"I-I'm fine," Kate assured. Then she looked up, frantic. "More importantly, we need to find Keith—_before _Mr. Kincaid does!"

* * *

"_Rhythmi here, Voicemailing in! Kate, you there?"_

Kate winced as she took out the Ranger Styler, switching on. "Y-yeah, I'm here," she said. Deciding to split up for efficiency's sake, Kate was searching the recreation area—the library, staff room, dormitories—and Rhythmi was currently checking with students in Mr. Kincaid's room in for clues. Keith was nowhere to be found, and no word had been heard from the other members of the class or Ms. April.

"There's no sign of him anywhere," Kate sighed.

"Not here, either. Mr. Kincaid's students haven't seen him…" Rhythmi sighed. Then with a slightly faltering voice, "Kate…you don't think he could really have…"

"Rhythmi!" Kate said firmly. "We both know Keith would never do that! I-I mean, yes, he's a prankster…but he would never take Stylers from the school! And especially not permanently! He's got no reason to do that—and he knows students who pull this stuff end up expelled! He's not stupid!"

A beat.

"…Kate," Rhythmi said wearily, "I hate to break it to you, but he _is _stupid."

Kate gulped, continuing. "A-anyway—there's still no way he'd do this!"

Rhythmi sighed, but then, in a resigned voice, "You're right. He'd never be able to pull this off anyway… How about I check out the kitchens?"

Kate nodded. "Roger," she said. "I haven't checked the library yet, so I'm going to go there. Then, I'll call you again in twenty!"

She hung up, starting down the hall to the library. Reaching the door, she thought to herself, _'It's not like Keith will be here, though… it's not his naptime.'_

Continuing anyway, though, she looked around briefly for any sign of him. The library was _huge—_Keith could be anywhere, if he was there at all. Deciding it would be impractical to search everywhere, she walked up to the student on duty.

"Belinda!" she called, running up. "Have you seen—"

"_Ssshhhhh!" _The short-haired, redheaded girl hissed in interruption. Kate winced, mentally beating herself—Belinda _hated _loud library-goers. "Don't you know that this is a _library!?_"

"I-I'm sorry! S-so sorry!" Kate squeaked in response, stepping back a bit.

Belinda huffed. "_Hon_estly," she said grumpily, "first Evans, now _you. _Some people have no respect…"

"S-sorry…" Kate repeated. Then she blinked. "Wha—_Evans?_" she exclaimed, looking up with wide eyes. "Belinda, you saw him?!"

"I didn't see him," Belinda clarified, "but I most certainly _heard _him." She huffed. "It had to have been a little less than an hour ago. I was just rearranging books before breakfast when I heard him outside, yelling." She shrugged, shelving books. "Something like, 'HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!' I thought he was just messing around with some boys from his class, but when I went to go check, no one was there."

"D-do you have any idea where he could have gone?!" Kate asked frantically, stunned at this clue.

Belinda looked up. "Err… let's see…" she mused. "…I didn't _see _anything… but I heard what sounded like the front doors of the school open and close. He must have gone that way."

Kate's eyes widened more. She bowed slightly. "T-thank you so much, Belinda! Really!"

Belinda blinked, but then looked down, a bit embarrassed. "N-no," she said, "It was really no—_HEY! NO RUNNING IN THE LIBRARY!_"

The shout went unheard, though, as Kate went shooting off to the front door.

As she ran, she saw Rhythmi near the entrance with Janice—they both looked very serious. "Rhythmi! I-I just heard something from Belinda!"

"And I just heard something from Janice," Rhythmi said excitedly. "Tell her, Janice!"

Janice nodded, turning to Kate. She looked more than a bit distressed. "I was just getting ready to feed the Bidoof in the school yard," she said, "when I found a Styler. It's the same one as the School uses." She reached in her apron pocket, pulling out a green School Styler. "I thought a student had just dropped it—but then I realized that it was early morning, and no students would be outside yet. The school yards are checked every night, so any lost Stylers would have been picked up then. And now I'm hearing about these stolen Stylers…"

"Do you know what this means?" Rhythmi said. "The _real _thief could have dropped a Styler when he was running away through the yard!"

Kate nodded. "And Belinda told me that Keith had run out to the schoolyard…"

Janice frowned. "Well!" she said, nervous. "That makes it sound as if Keith—"

"But that's not it!" Kate cut off. "S-she also said he was yelling things like 'stop! Come back!' So isn't it possible Keith was trying to catch the thief!?"

Rhythmi groaned. "Now that," she said grimly, "sounds _much _more likely than Mr. Kincaid's theory. Come on, Kate, let's check the schoolyard."

The girls went outside, and a few moments after they walked out, they saw something glistening in the grass. "…Hey!" Kate cried. "Is that—?"

They ran to the object, Kate bending down to pick the familiar green shape up. "…A School Styler," she murmured. "They dropped another one?"

Rhythmi nodded. "Guess so… hey!" she pointed down the beaten path to another green dot. "I think they dropped another one!" Rushing to pick it up, it turned out indeed to be another School Styler. "…Well, judging from these positions…" Rhythmi mused, "It looks like whoever dropped these was… leaving the school?"

Kate nodded in agreement. "So if we just keep going, we're bound to catch them. Let's tell Ms. April and—"

"…_Give them back! You're cornered, aren't you?!…"_

Both the girls looked up in alarm at the shout that was sounding faintly from far ahead, down the path out of the school grounds. "Was that—?!" Rhythmi said in a panic.

"I think it was," Kate gulped. "C'mon, Rhyth, let's hurry!"

* * *

The girls had run down the path as fast as possible, following muffled voices to their destination. Eventually, just as they reached the gates of the Academy, they saw it.

Keith had a man cornered by a tree, in a fighting stance to confront him if he tried to flee. The man didn't look all that old—late twenties, early thirties—and his face was one of panic as his eyes darted around desperately for a way of escape, as he was apparently not prepared to confront the mere sixteen year old boy in front of him. He was dressed in a long white lab coat, the pockets of which were stuffed to the brim and bulging out.

"KEITH!" Rhythmi screamed, looking positively murderous. "What in _Arceus' _name are you doing!? And who's that man?!"

"What am _I _doing?!" Keith shouted back, not taking his eyes off the man. "I'm tryin' to catch a stinking _thief, _that's what I'm doing! What are _you guys doing?!_"

"LOOKING FOR YOU!" The girls yelled in unison. Kate, looking very flitty about their situation, continued, "K-Keith, what are you doing in the first place? How did you k-know about the thief?!"

Keith huffed. "I was going to class after breakfast," he said firmly, glancing at them, "when I saw _this sneaky guy _coming out of the staff room. His pockets were bulging out, and he looked all nervous and suspicious, so I called out to him, y'know? I just wanted to ask who he was. Then, _bam! _He's off and running!"

The 'sneaky guy' in question looked positively frantic by this point. "H-hey! T-three on one's unfair!" he cried, backing up a bit.

"Don't you _dare _move!" Keith barked, his gaze snapping back to the thief. "And you're one to talk about fairness, stealing Stylers from us students!"

The man yelped, looking positively terrified at this point. "T-that's it!" he squeaked. "I-I'm out of here!"

He turned to run—effectively crashing headfirst into a tree in the process.

"D-dwah!" he choked, staggering. In the struggle, his pockets emptied themselves, a good bunch of School Stylers, scattering on the grass. As if that wasn't enough, in the process, a brown blur suddenly dropped out of the tree, landing directly on his face. "Bweh—w-waaahh! I-I can't see!"

"I-it's a Slakoth!" Kate cried, running over to Keith. "T-they might be docile, but those claws are no joke! W-we have to catch it!"

"P-please! I-it's heavy—o-_ow—_it's scratching me—it hurts—it _stinks!_" The thief wailed, flailing around as the Slakoth wriggled around sleepily, unwittingly clawing at the man's face in the process. "HEEEEELP!"

Keith cackled, obviously amused by the show. "Wahahaha!" He laughed, running forward with the girls and gathering up all the Stylers. "Serves that asshole right! That's what you get for being a no-good _thief!_"

"Keith!" Kate grabbed Keith's sleeve. "W-we can't just—!"

"Please!" The man bawled. "I'll never steal again! I-I'll return everything! _Heeeeelp!_"

Keith rolled his eyes at the spectacle, turning away. "Let's go, Kate, Rhyth," he said. "We got the Stylers back, so let's get back to the Academy."

Kate clutched more at his sleeve. _"Keith!" _she cried, looking up at him. "We can't just leave him! He's in trouble!"

Keith blinked, dumbfounded. "Wha—so what?!" he replied, looking away so his gaze wasn't meeting hers. "Who the hell cares about a guy like that? In case you're forgetting, he _stole _our _Stylers!_"

"What are you saying, Keith!?" Kate pressed, looking rather outraged. "Isn't it our job to help people in trouble!? Isn't that what Rangers are for?!"

Keith blinked, taken aback. "I-I…" he scoffed, turning his head so he was looking back at her. "Look Kate, you might say that, but—"

There it was again.

Kate's normally opaque blue eyes now seemed completely transparent—bright, full of emotion, seeming to take in everything that was around her. The translucent blue orbs were staring straight up at him, desperate, determined, _and selfless. _Keith felt his chest give an unnatural _th-thump _as he came to the sudden realization that Kate didn't care that he was a thief, a sneaker, a good-for-nothing—she just saw him as what he was in that moment: a person in trouble that was in desperate need of rescue.

With a jolt, Keith was brought out of the trance as Rhythmi grabbed his shoulder. "Kate's right, Keith," she said. "He may have stolen from us, but he still needs help!"

"…I-I…" Keith looked at Rhythmi, then back at Kate—and she was _still _looking at him with those honest, translucent blue eyes.

"…F-fine!" Keith huffed, yanking his arm away from Kate and turning away. He was becoming increasingly aware of the heat in his ears, which was now slowly pooling into his cheeks. "G-go ahead, save the stinking thief!"

Kate's eyes widened as she smiled in relief, and she turned to the man. "U-um—M-Mr. Thief, if you could just please hold still, then it would be really appreciated! CAPTURE ON!"

The shouts and shrieks accompanied by the occasional Slakoth cry were but a blur to Keith as he stood with his back turned to the scene, hands firmly clutching his crossed arms. _'Typical,' _he thought, fighting off the urge to snort, _'that she calls the guy 'Mr. Thief.' What a sap.' _

Taking a moment to glance at the capture, though, he noticed that Kate's eyes were still carrying that bright light—she was fixed on the Slakoth, on Capturing it, on conveying her feeling of friendship to it. That was what being a Ranger was, after all: becoming friends with Pokémon.

Rhythmi was encouraging Kate, and the thief was still begging to be saved. Keith scoffed softly. _'I would have captured it myself,' _he thought grudgingly, _'just…'_

He didn't think he'd be able to pull off a Capture when his hands were shaking so bad that he had to clutch at his sleeves just to keep them still.

His thoughts were interrupted by a yell of "CAPTURE COMPLETE!" and a long sigh of relief, most likely from the thief as the Slakoth was taken off of him. Keith turned, walking silently over to the scene.

"T… t-thank you," the man panted. "Thank you so much…"

"I-it was nothing!" Kate said, putting her hands up. "I-it was just the right thing to do!"

Rhythmi smiled. "Yeah, it was," she said. "If only _someone _felt the same…" she glared at Keith.

Keith snarled. "I stand by what I said," he retorted, "this guy's a creep."

The man looked hurt. "T-that's—"

"What's going on here!?"

Everyone turned to see Ms. April running down the stairs to the gates. "Ms. April!" Rhythmi exclaimed, looking relieved.

The teacher walked over, looking very concerned. "Kate, Rhythmi, you two disappeared as well," she said, "so everyone started looking for you."

"W-we're sorry!" Kate said, bowing.

Ms. April smiled, and then looked at Keith, who was holding all the Stylers. "There you are, Keith!" she sighed in relief. "And our Stylers, too!"

Keith huffed, handing them over. "Ms. April, _that's _the guy who took the Stylers," he said, jerking his thumb at the man.

Kate looked at the man, utterly confused. "W-why would you do something like that, anyway?"

"That's right!" Rhythmi frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Those are really important to all the Ranger students at our Academy! Don't you understand that?!"

The man's lip quivered. He was slightly bruised and bloody from his ordeal with the Slakoth. Finally, he sighed shakily and confessed, "I-I…I'm sorry…" he sniffled. "I-it's just… I always dreamed of becoming a Ranger. But I never did anything about it… I-I had lots of other dreams I wanted to follow, but… I-I was indecisive, a-and I never really decided what I wanted to do with my life…"

"Sounds like someone we know," Keith muttered out the side of his mouth. Kate smiled nervously as the image of the school's 'indecisive marshmallow' popped into her mind.

"I-I always wanted to be a Ranger, though!" the man cried. "I-I thought if I had a Styler I could do something, b-but…t-this is hopeless. I-I can't figure out how they work…"

Ms. April looked aghast. "What are you saying?!" she demanded, looking murderous. "Please don't make me angry here!" The three students shrunk back, knowing what Ms. April was like when angry. The teacher sighed, composing herself a bit. "…It doesn't matter how old you are," she said, "even an adult can join our Ranger School. With enough effort, even _you _can become a Ranger—but certainly not through methods like theft!" She smiled. "If you have a dream you can't let go of, it's up to you to make it real."

The man's eyes widened—then they started shining. He ran up to Ms. April, grabbing her hands and clutching them to his heart. "T…" he sobbed. "T-teacher lady… I-I j-just lost control when I saw the Stylers sitting there…I only wanted one, b-but I ended up with the whole lot…"

"Ironic," Keith mumbled, "if you'd taken only one, I wouldn't have bothered with you."

Ms. April smiled nervously, looking a bit put off. "…Just like how you are with your dreams… you're greedy, aren't you?" she said. "Go home and think about what you really want to do. How about you think of how you can _properly _become a Ranger?"

The man sighed, letting her hands go. Ms. April took them back gratefully, wiping them on her skirt. "…I…I'll do that." He said. A beat passed, though, and then he looked up, startled. "W-w-wait a second?!" he cried. "G-go home?! You'll just let me go home?! Without any punishment?!"

Keith looked just as shocked. "M-Ms. April—!" he started, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"…It's ok, Keith," she smiled. "He was just following a dream. If that's the reason, and he regrets his actions, I'm prepared to let this one go."

After the man had skulked off the school grounds in a sniffly mess, the group started back up towards the Academy. As they walked, Kate smiled up at Keith.

"Isn't this great, Keith?" she said happily. "We got all the Stylers back. And no one even got in trouble!"

"…Yeah," Keith muttered. "Great…"

He looked back down at Kate. Her eyes were back to normal: Opaque, two simple pale pools of blue.

'…_I knew it,' _he thought to himself, _'it was just my imagination. Man, I need more sleep…'_

Feeling a chill in his side, he glanced over to see a smirking Rhythmi. Their eyes met, and she made a quick little kissy face, gesturing her hand quickly to the twintailed brunette.

Immediately, Keith's face flooded with color, and he ran ahead yelling something along the lines of _"I'LL MEET YOU GUYS AT THE SCHOOL OK GREAT SEE YA!"_

Ms. April blinked. "What in the…?" she murmured, puzzled. Kate gulped, equally confused, as Rhythmi just snickered to herself.

* * *

"…And so, Keith was trying to catch the thief who made off with the Stylers."

Principal Lamont, the headmaster of the Academy, blinked. "My goodness," he said, "so all that took place while I was away? I seem to miss out on all the fun!"

He chortled happily, obviously not bothered by the whole mess.

"Well, the thief got away," the principal continued, "but I'm glad no one was hurt. Recovering our Stylers is only a bonus compared to that."

Mr. Kincaid was grumbling. "Keith was only blamed because his everyday conduct is so incredibly deplorable…"

Ms. April smiled. "I'm impressed by both you girls," she said. "You both believed in Keith until the end. Especially you, Rhythmi. Trust is a very important quality for an Operator."

Rhythmi smirked, looking quite red.

Ms. April looked at Kate. "Kate," she said, "your teamwork with Rhythmi and your Capture were amazing. I could tell right away from that big smile on the Slakoth's face. You're a very exceptional student for being able to locate Keith and assess what had to be done in the situation you were thrust into so easily."

Kate went berry red, stammering. "N-n-no, not at a-all!" she said. "I-I just did what anyone would d-do, r-really, i-it's actually nothing a-at all—"

She stopped when Rhythmi put a hand over her mouth, leaning over and muttering in her ear, "Just shut up and take the compliment, honey."

Ms. April walked in front of Keith. "…And you. Mr. Keith Evans." She sighed, shaking her head. "You're _far _too reckless. You need to rely on your colleagues more…you have two wonderful friends who worry for your welfare, and who are willing to do whatever it takes to help you. You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help. There is only so much that one Ranger can do all alone." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "One day, you _will_ be faced with a situation that makes you accept that."

Kate and Rhythmi winced, feeling rather sorry for Keith.

"…That being said…" Ms. April continued, "There's no denying you did a good deed. It's obvious you care for others—why else would you have chased after those Stylers, which are so important to all your fellow students?"

A short silence.

"…Keith," Ms. April said sternly, snapping her fingers in his face. "are you paying proper attention?"

Keith was grumbling to himself with Mr. Kincaid. "…That thief didn't get away…we _actually _let that dirty guy go…"

Then he turned to the girls.

"Hey, you two," he huffed "You understand, right? The rotten way I feel about this whole mess!"

Kate smiled sheepishly while Rhythmi just huffed.

"…But…" Keith hesitated, gritting his teeth. "…You guys…believed in me. And…stood up for me, too. You didn't just go and think I stole those Stylers like any other person would do…I guess that made me…"

He broke off, looking a bit frustrated.

"…Happy?" Kate offered tentatively.

Keith blinked, looking at her. "…Y… yeah," he mumbled, looking away with a red tinge to his cheeks. "H-happy."

Principal Lamont stepped forward. "Like the thief of today, perhaps there are shadows lurking in all of our hearts. Unseen, unheard—but still there, waiting for their chance to strike." He smiled. "What is _truly _important is that we never give in to the darkness in our hearts. It is as written in the books of our library…"

Silence. Keith broke it by saying, "Mind clarifying, sir? Reading's not really my thing." Ms. April glared at him.

Lamont smiled more. "In the region of Almia," he said, "there is an ancient word: 'Vatonage.' It means, 'to reawaken light that has been submerged in darkness.'" He sighed a bit, looking up wistfully. "…Vatonage…" he shook his head, smiling again. "…Today, you all shine with the brilliance of gems," he continued. "I personally hope that you never lose that shine."

Keith scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said cockily, "I'm gonna be a Top Ranger, mister. You don't gotta worry about me!"

Lamont smiled, but then noticed the clock, blinking. "My," he said in surprise, "I have indeed rambled on. You should all get back to our classes."

Keith jumped at the mention of 'classes.' "No, keep rambling," he begged. "Please?"

Rhythmi laughed, grabbing his arm. "C'mon, Evans," she said, "it's time to go back to class. Kate?"

Kate smiled. "Yeah!" she nodded, grabbing the grumbling redhead's other arm as the girls dragged him all the way back to class.


	6. The Internship

**Here it is: your daily serving of **_**Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. **_**Part of a healthy balanced breakfast with a little extra fiber. And now, moving on to questions.**

"_**What do you think of SpecialJewelShipping?" **_**–I answered this question last chapter. It's the same as RedemptionShipping.**

"_**Are you going to do more prizes for guessing something?" **_**–Maybe, if I'm not too busy.**

"_**I can't believe you haven't actually got the game. How do you remember so many details?" **_**I actually **_**do **_**have the game, and I'm currently doing a play through at the same pace as I write this story so I don't miss anything. I do have the Ranger School arc of the game memorized though. If you want updates of my (un) hilarious comments as I play the game, you can go to my Twitter account.**

"_**Who are you picking for your Pokémon XY starter?" **_**–I'm currently torn between Chespin and Froakie. On one hand, I love frogs. But on the other hand… **_**ninja chipmunk.**_

"_**What do you think of my OTP, male Marill and female Togetic?" **_**–it seems interesting. I can think of ideas for that pair. My personal Pokémon OTP is Chimchar x Treecko (my Explorers of Darkness team—I wanna write a fanfic for them but I dunno if people will like it/I have time ugh).**

"_**What do you think of Fairy types?" **_**–I think it's an amazing addition! It's cute and sweet and whimsical. Plus they're super effective against Dragon types and let's face it; Dragon types are WAY overpowered.**

**There we go! As always, if you guys have any questions for me, leave them in with the review. Before we start, though, I have to ask something: **

**I've been getting plenty of questions, and I had a little idea. Around the tenth or fifteenth chapter of this story, if enough people like the idea, then I might gather up a bunch of questions you ask and then answer them in person in a video that I would post on YouTube. I wouldn't be alone, though—my good friend, and editor of this fanfic, Brendan, would be my co-host for the "Shadows Of Almia Q&A." You guys could ask **_**anything **_**and I'll definitely answer (as long as it's not **_**too **_**personal): questions about my life, how I write, anything about this story, my headcanons, etcetera. You can even ask us to do impressions of characters, dress up, or say tongue twisters. How about it? I would need around fifty questions for a real video. I'm going to set up a poll on my FanFiction profile page, so vote if you want a video. I'll decide whether or not I'll do one.**

**Also, I'm not sure everyone knows this (even though it's on my profile) but my real first name isn't Momo, of course—it's Mae. You can call me whatever you wish—but I thought it'd be useful to tell you all since that's most likely what the person who's coming up in this next announcement will call me…**

**I mentioned this in an edit of last chapter, but ****this story now has an official editor!**** He's my good friend and classmate, Brendan. He'll be available to send questions to, so ask him anything… even stuff about my horrendous grammar mistakes, goofy mix-ups, and brutal miswordings. He's way too eager to embarrass me. So please send in some questions to Brendan, he's excited to talk to you guys. From now on, in addition to my usual author notes, Brendan will also put in a word. Here's his notes now—go ahead and talk, Brendan.**

_Editor's Notes:__ Hello there, all. This is Brendan, Mae's super freakin' cool as steamy Garbodor editor, if you catch my drift. If you all were paying attention, which I understand if you didn't, (these ANs get boring as hell) I'm the story's editor. Pretty much what I'm here to do is just pick through and fix some of the crazy grammar and plot mistakes Mae might make. Including that one time in which Mae accidentally called Kate a 'he' when Rhythmi was telling Keith to ask him—er, her, out. I also remind her to write becAUSE JESUS SHE NEEDS CONSTANT REMINDERS. JUST ON MONDAY (8/5/13) I ASKED HER, "Hey, so how far into that chapter are you?"_

_To which she replied, "What chapter?"_

_I hope that gives you a little fuzzy feeling in all of your hearts._

_But either way, summing up, I'm going to be here correcting her chapters so they don't come out looking like Ash Ketchum's hairstyle, and I'll also be here to speed up the frequency in which chapters pop up for you guys._

_You're welcome._

_But yeah, feel free to ask questions or any of that good stuff. Anyway, back to your previously scheduled story. (P.S. I looked at the word count on this one, it's over nine-thousand. So the same number as the amount of times you've heard that joke. So a treat for you all, and a looong Thursday for me.)_

**Don't listen to a word he says, it's all **_(somewhat true) _**lies. Anyways, from now on, my notes and answers will always be in bold type, while **_Brendan's are in italics. __**Questions from you guys will be in both. **_

**Now then, let's start the next chapter—this one's gonna be fun.**

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

_**The Internship**_

* * *

"Kate! _Kate?_"

Keith grumbled as he walked through the library, looking for any sign of a twintailed brunette. "Jeez," he muttered to himself, "how can she go missing _today _of all days…?"

Spotting a familiar mop of short red hair, he called, "Yo, Belinda? Have you s—"

"_Shhh!" _the redhead spun around with a finger to her lips, obviously quite irritated. "Don't you realize that this is a _library?!_" Keith cringed, berating himself for having not seen that coming. If there was one thing Belinda hated, it was noise in a library.

"…Sorry, Belinda," he sighed, lowering his voice.

Belinda sighed. "Whatever," she muttered, turning back so she could continue organizing books. "Can I help you, Evans? I'm kinda busy here, so I can't help you find a napping spot."

"You and I both know that I don't take my naps till first study hall," Keith huffed, "so don't give me that crap. I'm looking for Kate."

"What, Lovett?" Belinda blinked as she checked over the spine of a book. "She was just here. Wanted to know where the really old books are—like, _really _old. I told her all historical tomes are in the far left corner of the library." She shrugged, putting the book on its shelf. "I dunno why she'd want to go, though," she mused, "that place is all dust and must. No one ever bothers with those books… well, besides me, when I do the cleaning once a month."

Keith nodded. "Thanks, Linda," he said.

Belinda glared. "Don't call me that," she said firmly. Grinning nervously as he held his hands up in defense, Keith quickly scuttled away in the direction Belinda had pointed out.

The ancient documents section of the library was exactly as Belinda had described and more: dusty. There were no studies based on Almian mythology and far ancient times in the Ranger Academy's curriculum, so none of the students ever bothered to look. Despite the dustiness, though, the place was obviously taken good care of by Belinda—the huge, plentiful bookshelves were filled to the brim in perfect order, not a page out of place. In the middle of the section was Kate, sitting alone at the study table, reading an old, musty, yellow-paged book. Her eyes were intent as they scanned the pages thoroughly, as if searching for something.

"Hello, bookworm," Keith said as he slid in the seat next to Kate. Kate jumped, looking up.

"Ah—morning, Keith," she smiled. "Did Belinda tell you where I was?"

"Oh, yeah," Keith replied, rolling his eyes, "after trying to 'shush' me into oblivion." He looked at her. "But enough about me—so this is where you've been hiding out every break you get, huh? Rhyth and I thought you'd gotten sick of us."

Kate smiled sheepishly. "S-sorry," she replied. "I've just been studying."

"For _what?_" Keith asked, stumped. "We don't have any classes that involve… _this._" He gestured around to the dusty bookshelves.

"W-well," Kate said defensively, "I-I guess you could say this is… self-studying? Like, for my own benefit. Because I'm… curious."

"Curiosity killed the Caterpie," Keith sang, stretching his arms out. "But what exactly is this thing you're so hooked on? Enlighten me."

Kate's face lit up as she smiled. "Well, you know what Principal Lamont was talking about that time? You know, when the School Stylers were stolen?"

"No," Keith replied bluntly, "I wasn't listening. At all." Kate laughed nervously as she remembered that Keith had been grumbling to himself in a sulk for the whole of Mr. Lamont's speech.

"Y-you see," she explained, "Principal Lamont told us about a word. 'Vatonage,' he called it. It means, 'to reawaken light that has been submerged in darkness…' I guess I just got curious. So I asked Principal Lamont again later, and he told me that the books involved with that word would definitely be in this section."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Jeez, you really are some kind of nerd," he muttered. "It's only a matter of time before you cut your hair like Mushroom Boy."

Kate blinked. "Mushroom… ah—you mean Mr. Verity?" she asked.

Keith groaned. "My Arceus, you are _so weird,_" he sighed. "Just call him Isaac, will you? Or better yet, Nerd Boy."

Ignoring his remark, Kate continued. "Mr. Verity is smart," she mused. "Maybe he _could _help…" she smiled at Keith. "Keith, do you want to help too? I'm just looking through all these books for any sign of the word."

Keith smiled cheerfully in response. "Well, gosh and golly, Kate," he said with an overt amount of pep, "that sounds about as much fun as pulling my teeth out!" He gave a girlish giggle as Kate frowned in response.

"You can't blame me for asking," she mumbled, turning back to the book.

Keith rolled his eyes, leaning forward so their eyes met. "Oh, quit groveling," he huffed. "Remember what today is? You can't _not _remember what today is."

Kate blinked. "U-uh," she stammered. "It's, uh… Wednesday?"

"Thursday," Keith corrected. "And it's a _very special Thursday…_"

Kate closed her eyes as she racked her mind for what he could possibly be hinting at. "Err… T-Thursday… Thursday is… _ah!_" She looked at him with wide eyes, yelping. "I-it's Internship Day!"

Keith grinned widely. "Correct!" he cheered. "And we get our assignments on where we'll be going today in class, which starts in…" He checked his School Styler. "…Five minutes. Shit."

Kate jumped up, frantically picking up all her books and putting them back on the shelves. "S-shoot!" she exclaimed. "I-I forgot all about it! A-and Ms. April told us to pack snacks, a-and water, a-and…"

"I got you covered," Keith said, throwing the girl a green lunchbox with the Academy's insignia on it, "being the _wonderful _friend I am, I went out of my way to pack you some food and water."

Kate smiled, her face flooding in relief. "T-thanks, Keith," she sighed, "you're a good friend."

Keith blinked, looking back. Then he turned his gaze away, his ears tinged red. "Y-yeah, whatever," he mumbled. "Anyways, let's hurry!"

* * *

"Now," Ms. April said, clearing her throat as she stood in front of the class. "As you all know, today is nothing other than your Internship day!"

The whole class cheered as she smiled. "As you all know, those of you that are going to be Mechanics will be visiting Pueltown's base for an example lesson by their Mechanic. The Operators will be traveling to the Ranger Union to see how professional Operators work in person. Finally, the Rangers will be going to either the Vientown or Pueltown Ranger Base to see some real Rangers." Looking around the class, she continued, "All of you have your assignments, so when I dismiss you, you can go ahead and leave. Remember: stay with your group, follow instructions, and make sure you learn something from the professionals!"

The class chanted a 'Yes, Ms. April!' in response. She smiled, and said, "Alright then, dismissed! Have fun, everyone!"

Immediately, the whole class stood, chattering in excitement as they filed out of the class. Rhythmi walked over to Kate and Keith, smiling.

"So," she said as they all stood and started walking out, "you guys are going to Vientown, right?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "Kate and I are the only ones assigned there. And you're off to the Ranger Union, right?" Rhythmi nodded in response.

Kate was smiling. "Vientown is where that Ranger from before is from, right?" she mentioned. "Mr. Crawford!"

Keith grinned. "Yeah!" he said as the group went into the courtyard. "It'll be great to see him again!" Kate beamed in response, looking positively elated.

Rhythmi smiled, patting Kate's head. "I'm sure you'll guys have a blast." Then, suddenly, she leaned over to Keith. "Especially _you…_" she murmured, "you'll be alone with Kate _all day, _after all."

Heat flooding into the redhead's cheeks, he stammered a bit before gaining enough sense to shove Rhythmi away. Kate blinked in confusion. "W-wha—" she started, but Keith cut her off quickly.

"A-anyway!" he said hotly, changing the subject, "R-Rhythmi, you've gotta get with the group that's going to the Union! W-we'll see you at dinner!"

Rhythmi smiled sweetly. "Yes, yes, I know," she said. "See you guys at dinner!"

"Yeah!" Kate smiled as she and Keith ran down to the school gates. Rhythmi watched them as they disappeared down the steps… and then she sighed as she was left alone.

"What a drag," she murmured to herself, "I'll have to be alone the whole trip to Fall City… …hm?" Rhythmi blinked as she saw a familiar mushroom-shaped blur nearby. She stared for a bit, but then brightened slightly as she ran over. "Isaac!" she called.

Isaac blinked, turning from his conversation with Ponte to see the blonde running towards him. Immediately, his whole face went burgundy as he only managed to make stammering noises only interrupted by the occasional gasp for air. "R—R-Rhyth-mi—" he managed, "e-err—w-what brings you—I-I mean, M-Miss Lovett a-and Mr. Eva—" Rhythmi smiled, not paying any mind to his panicked state.

"Kate and Keith are off to Vientown," she explained. "I'm all alone… I was wondering—do you want to walk with me? Ah," she paused, glancing at Ponte, "you might want to walk with Ponte, though…"

Ponte grinned gleefully. "Who, me?" he said innocently. "I was just leaving to hang with Ryan instead."

Isaac went pale in shock. "P-Ponte," he started, reaching out desperately, "w-wait—!"

Sadly for him, though, Ponte was already prancing off to another group of boys.

Isaac gazed off after him, face full of terror, but was brought out of his reverie by Rhythmi's harp-like voice. "Then, shall we?" she smiled.

Isaac looked at her, staring. Finally, he gulped.

"…S… s-sure."

* * *

"So how do we get to Vientown, anyway?"

Kate and Keith had left the school courtyard and were now on their way to the gates.

Keith stretched his arms, looking at the sky. "Down this trail there's a bridge that goes across the river," he said. "Once we cross it, we just follow the path to Vientown. Easy."

Kate nodded. "I see…" she reached into her lunchbox, pulling out the chocolate chip cookie that came standard with every student's meal. As she took a bite, Keith raised a judgmental eyebrow at her.

"Shouldn't you save that for—oh, I don't know—_after _lunch?" he scoffed. Kate blinked as she gulped down the piece she'd bitten off.

"I'm eating this to give me energy!" she protested. "It's a long walk, right? So this will give me the boost I need!" Keith rolled his eyes.

"Well," he said, "it sounds like you just want to spoil yourself and have chocolate…" he glanced at Kate, who was now ignoring him in favor of the cookie. "…Hey," Keith said, looking rather irritated, "are you even listening to me?" No answer from the brunette. Temper rising, Keith suddenly grabbed Kate's chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Look," he said hotly, "when someone's talkin' to you, you look 'em in the eye and—!"

Kate was staring at him in surprise with opaque blue eyes and stuffed cheeks. There were small crumbs around her lips, and she was still holding the last of her cookie. Blinking up at him, she managed to mumble through her full mouth, "…Keef?"

Keith blinked one, then twice. Immediately, a thousand thoughts seemed to rush through the copper-haired boy's head, all blurring by too fast to comprehend. After the traffic jam, though, one word jumped from the rest in his mind.

'_Cute.'_

"…Keith?" Kate repeated, yanking Keith out of the trance. Stammering briefly, he jerked back awkwardly. "Are you ok?" she went on, having swallowed her fill.

"I-I—" he stuttered, clenching both his hands into tight fists at his sides, "…I-it's nothing. Eat the damn cookie, ok?"

Kate looked confused, but gobbled up the rest of her cookie quickly, licking her fingers of the leftovers. Keith struggled not to look back at her, trying to push that fatal word out of his mind: _'cute.' _She'd looked _damn _cute, cheeks all full and staring up with puzzled eyes and—_no! _He shook his head, wiping the memory away. Dammit, he needed more sleep. He hadn't functioned correctly ever since Rhythmi had talked to him in the cafeteria that day.

"It'll be nice to see Mr. Crawford, won't it?" Kate said, making small talk. "And we'll probably get to meet other Rangers and the Base Leader…" She looked at Keith. "…Keith? Are you alright?"

"H-huh?" Keith stammered. His face was a fine red from the cookie incident.

Kate's eyes widened as she got a good look at him. "Y-you look like you have a fever!" she exclaimed. Keith blinked rapidly as he turned up his collar to hide his face.

"W-what?!" he said, looking away. "D-don't be stupid! T-this is just—just—"

The concerned look on Kate's face didn't leave. "S-should we turn back?" she pressed. "W-we can ask Janet to get you medicine!"

"Kate," Keith repeated, getting testy as they crossed the school gates, "I said I'm—"

"HEEEEELP MEEEEE!"

"Wh—"

Kate and Keith looked up in alarm, scanning the area for the source of the scream. They found it in the form of a tree—or rather, what was _clinging desperately _to the tree. It was a rather small, thin man who was dressed in slightly worn overalls, dirty boots and a green shirt underneath. He had slightly balding tan hair and afraid brown eyes, worry lines wearing at his face. He was clinging to a tree, looking fearfully down at…

"…Bidoof?" Kate blinked. Crying out eagerly were two small Bidoof, trying to jump up at the terrified man.

"H-help!" the man shrieked. "T-they're a'gonna maul me! Somebody, p-please!"

Keith, despite the scene in front of him, looked unfazed. "Oh," he said calmly, "Tim. How's it going?"

"O-oh, Keith! I-it's not goin' very good, obviously!" the man, 'Tim' yelped as a Bidoof tried nipping playfully at his heel. "Eek! S-somebody—anybody—HEEEEELP!"

Kate's face was fraught with worry. "K-Keith," she gulped, "d-do you know this—?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah," he said, "this guy's name is Tim. Little Tim, people call him. He runs a ranch down in Vientown. His wife is also pretty well known around—"

"WOULD YOU STOP YAPPIN," Tim screamed in fear, "AND GET A MOVE ON HELPIN' ME, PLEASE? HEEEEEEEEELP!"

Keith's eye twitched. "Jeez, you're loud," he muttered. Then, louder, "Tim, calm down! Can't you tell those Bidoof are harmless? They probably just want to play with you!"

"O-oh, no!" Tim insisted. "Y-you may be fooled, but I know that look in their eyes! T-those Bidoof are out to maul me, I-I can tell!"

Kate looked down at the Bidoof, who were crying eagerly, 'bee-dee-hoo, bee-dee-hoo!' They were nothing but smiles as they jumped up playfully at the terrified Tim… …No matter how she thought about it, Kate couldn't believe the Bidoof meant any harm. "Err, Mr. Little Tim," she said uncertainly, "I-I really don't believe there's a-anything to be afraid of…"

"J-just capture the monsters, w-would'ja?!" Little Tim pleaded. "P-please! F-for my sanity!"

Rolling his eyes, Keith remarked, "Well… I guess it can't hurt to help the guy out. He's deathly afraid of Pokémon, after all." He glanced at Kate. "…You take one, I take the other?" Kate nodded, pulling out her Styler.

"CAPTURE ON!"

Capturing the Bidoof wasn't hard. They were bigger and tougher than most, but they were _Bidoof, _after all. The capture was completed in a matter of seconds… but what surprised her, Kate realized, was that for once, they weren't competing. They'd just naturally decided that Kate take one Bidoof and Keith take the other—no race over who could go fastest, or take the least damage. Not that she ever started that kind of thing, but for Keith, it was his honey and saccharine.

This time, though, they were just two Ranger Trainees working toward the same goal: Capturing two overeager Bidoof who were frightening a citizen. The task, of course, was accomplished easily. The two yelled 'CAPTURE COMPLETE' almost simultaneously.

As Keith released the Bidoof into the wild, Kate went up to Little Tim. "A-are you alright, sir?" Little Tim edged himself down from the tree, shaking violently.

"H-hoo boy," he said heavily. "I-I was good and scared, but I was saved. I was saved, but I was good and scared." He sighed, looking up. "T-thank you very much. You rescued me." Kate laughed nervously, deciding not to tell him that there was nothing to save him from in the first place.

Keith walked over. "You know, Tim," he said, "you'd probably attract less Pokémon if you didn't smell like fresh milk all the time."

Tim flinched. "W-well, I can't help it, can I?" he responded. "I-I work on a milk farm, after all!" Keith sighed. Then, Little Tim turned to Kate. "Come to think of it," he said, "I don't believe I know your name. A friend of yours, Keith?"

Keith nodded, jerking his head at Kate. "This here's Kate Lovett," he said. "She transferred here a couple of months ago to train as a Ranger, like me. She's pretty smart, and good at capturing… second only to me, in fact." Kate frowned a bit at his cockiness, but then smiled pleasantly.

"I-it's nice to meet you, sir," she said, holding out a hand. Tim smiled, shaking the hand gladly.

"No, the pleasure's mine, lil' miss," he said. "I assume you two are on yer Internship day trip?" The students nodded. "I see! Well, in the off chance that you two are hangin' around Vientown as Rangers someday, come visit the farm. Our kids would be chuffed t' see you."

"Tim's got a _ton _of kids," Keith cut in. "And they're _all _curious about anyone who sets foot in the farm."

Little Tim dusted off his overalls. "Well," he said, "I should get a move on now. Got an important meetin' with Principal Lamont."

"Yeah, and we need to get to Vientown," Keith said. "See you later, Tim!"

"It was great to meet you, sir!" Kate added. Little Tim smiled back.

"Same t' you, Miss Lovett. You kids take care, now!" He scurried off towards the school dodging any Pokémon that crossed his path.

"…He was an… interesting person," Kate remarked as she and Keith started off in the opposite direction.

"Isn't he, though?" Keith grinned. "Now c'mon. We've got an internship to get to."

* * *

The streets of Pueltown were busy and booming, and the group of Operators was moving steadily towards their target of the Union. Rhythmi and Isaac were walking next to each other, Rhythmi looking in good spirits and health while Isaac looked as if he'd just been punched in the gut, half-drowned, and then forced to swallow a Tamato Berry.

"This city's really nice, isn't it?" Rhythmi remarked off-handedly. "First time I've been here." Isaac gulped, stammering.

"E-err, yes," he said, "I-it really is, u-u-um, n-nice, i-if you l-like that sort of thing…"

Rhythmi looked at him, unfazed. "You live here, right, Isaac?" she smiled. "I remember that this is where my mom said you and your family moved." Isaac gulped, nodding dumbly. "I see… it must be nice, living in such a big city," Rhythmi went on. "I only went to Eterna a couple times back in Sinnoh, myself. What's it like, living here?"

A blank.

"I-I…" Isaac stuttered, horrified that he couldn't find any words. "I-I, um… that's… i-it's…!"

And then, of course, he did what he did best.

"_P-Pueltown is the heart city and harbor capitol of Almia!" _he suddenly half-yelled, standing stiff as if he was answering a question in class. "I-it is exactly 32.837 square miles large, w-with an approximate population of 49,000 citizens and growing! I-it has a large, busy harbor where most foreign supplies and shipments enter the region, a-and it is the most-visited tourist spot in the whole of Almia! T-the oldest building is the Ranger Base in the center of town, w-while the newest is Altru Corporations, t-the renowned energy-research company to the north! P-Pokémon of various species and shapes have adapted to live in this city, a-and many of them have become accustomed to humans! I-in summary, Pueltown is the base of operations for all Almian imports and exports, and is a vital resource to our economy a-and well-being!"

Silence.

"…I… see," Rhythmi finally said slowly. "That's, err… very interesting. But… what do you _think _about it?"

"H-huh?!" Isaac jumped, gulping. "A-ah, I… i-it's… …g-good."

"Alright then," Rhythmi nodded, giving him one last odd look before turning her head back forward.

Isaac sighed slightly, trying to catch his breath. _'Great,' _he thought glumly, _'not even to the Union yet, and she thinks I'm some kind of freak…' _

"Hey, who's that kid?"

"Aww, what a cute little girl…!"

"Hm?" Blinking, Isaac and Rhythmi looked behind them at other students, who were murmuring amongst themselves as something much smaller bobbed up and down in the crowd. It was… blonde? And with a cute red ribbon on top, at that. No Pokémon Isaac had ever seen before, and to further that statement, one of the remarks had been 'little girl…'

And that's when it hit him.

"_M-Melody?!" _Isaac sputtered as he dove into the crowd, grabbing the object of interest and lifting it off the ground. Indeed, it _was _a little girl, and a very adorable one at that. She had long blonde hair, some of which jetted back in an almost wing-like shape, and bangs shaped almost exactly like Isaac's. Her eyes were ruby red to his sapphire, and she had rosy cheeks. She was dressed all prim and proper: A navy blue dress jacket with gold buttons, a red dress underneath, and a matching tie. On her feet were black mary janes, underneath white stockings.

The girl blinked back before a huge smile spread across her face. "Big Brother!" she squealed, hugging Isaac tightly.

Isaac still looked shocked, but at the same time, elated. "W-what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school, Melody?"

The girl, Melody, huffed. "I didn't go!" she said. "I heard Big Brother would be here today, so I decided to find him!"

Isaac groaned. "Oh, man," he muttered, "Mom is going to _kill _me when she finds out…"

"Um," Rhythmi said, blinking as she walked up to the two. "I'm sorry, but… Isaac… is this girl calling you '_Big Brother'?_"

"A-ah," Isaac said, gulping. "Y-yeah. T-this is Melody, my little s-sister… y-you remember Melody, right, Rhythmi?"

Rhythmi blinked slowly again—but then it clicked. Her eyes went wide as she gasped, hand flying up to cover her mouth. "No way—_Melody?_" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since you were a little _baby!_"

Melody looked puzzled, but held out her hand nonetheless. "It's nice to meet you, Miss… Rhythmo?" She looked at Isaac for confirmation, but he laughed quietly and shook his head a bit, mouthing _'Rhythmi.' _

"Anyway," Isaac sighed, moving to put Melody down, "you need to be in _school, _Melo. You can't come with me."

Melody whined, clinging onto Isaac. "P-please!" she begged. "I-I'll do anything! I wanna be with you today! P-please, Big Brother, I—"

"_Melody!" _Isaac said sternly. "Like I said, you need to go to—!"

"Isn't it ok?" Rhythmi blinked. "It's just one day. You can just fib to her mom and say she went to school, right?"

Isaac stopped short, glancing up at Rhythmi.

Rhythmi looked back, the utter image of calm and casual.

"…F-_fine,_" Isaac sighed, lifting Melody up again. "I guess you can come, if it's only a day…"

"YAY!" Melody cried, hugging Isaac tight. "Thank you, Big Brother, thank you!"

Rhythmi smiled cheerfully. "You'll have to be a good girl, though, ok?" she said. Melody nodded eagerly. Beaming more, Rhythmi then turned her attention to Isaac.

"Who would have thought it, though," she remarked with a smile, "Isaac Verity, the studious older brother. It really fits, y'know?"

Isaac spent the rest of the walk trying to control his raging heartbeat.

* * *

"Hey! Anyone here?"

Kate and Keith had journeyed the rest of the way to Vientown, a modest town that was close to nature and surrounded by green. Standing in front of the building that was the area's official Ranger Base, it was no wonder their hearts had started to pound. Nevertheless, the two had pushed open the doors, peering their eager heads in to find…

…Nothing.

There was no one in sight in the small area that was the operation center of the Base, complete with an Operator's recharge station and little workshop stand for the Mechanic. No bustling Rangers, no yelling about important Missions—there was absolutely… _no one. _

"…Hello?" Kate called. "Is anyone here? We're here for our internship!" Keith grimaced, grumbling to himself.

"Jeez," he muttered, "I was expecting some scary-ass scenes, but this is just… _quiet._" Kate smiled sheepishly.

"W-well," she remarked, "Vientown isn't exactly a city of crime, to be exact."

Keith sighed. "I guess," he admitted.

"Oh!" A sudden, unfamiliar voice emerged, "You two must be the students from Ranger Academy! Sorry I didn't see you, I was just ducking down to grab something. Come here, I have something for the both of you."

Walking over, faces full of confusion, the students approached the counter. "P-pardon my asking," Kate said tentatively, "b-but shouldn't all the Rangers of the Base be here? T-to teach us, I-I mean…"

"Yeah!" Keith huffed, crossing his arms. "Where the hell _is _everyone?!"

"Ah, well…" the Operator, a purple-haired woman with a mole under her left eye, sighed morosely as she put a hand on her cheek. "The whole team had to move out for a Mission. _Very _high-priority, a huge disaster. Some Bidoof… they… oh," she moaned, choking back a sob. "I-I can't even bring myself to say it… i-it's just too terrible…!"

Kate and Keith looked at each other, both looking a bit worried. "E-err," Kate prodded. "S-so, t-the thing you have for us…"

"Ah, yes," the Operator said, dabbing at her eyes with a shaky breath. "I-it really is worrisome… but it can't be helped." She looked at them seriously. "In any case, the Base Leader, Barlow, has assigned you two an important task."

Kate blinked. "A… task?" she said.

The woman nodded. "Yes," she said. Bending down, she picked up a large basket, setting it on the counter with a puff of effort. "This. Your assignment is to take this up to Breeze Hill, where the rest of the team is. This is a _very important _parcel. The entirety of the Mission depends on it. Don't look inside, don't tip it over, and never, _ever, _turn it upside down." Her eyes narrowed. "Do you understand?"

The students nodded eagerly. "Y-yes!" Kate said.

"Yeah, got it!" Keith answered with a big grin. Grabbing the basket easily and slinging the handle around his shoulder, he added, "Just take this to Breeze Hill, right? Easy-peasy. We'll have this down in no time."

The Operator smiled. "Nice to see you're confident," she said. "Then, get to it… ah! But before that, let me introduce myself. I'm Audia, the head Operator of this Base. Good luck, you two!"

Kate smiled. "T-thank you!" she said before walking out with Keith. As they left, Keith shifted the basket on his shoulder.

"Breeze Hill, huh…" he mused. "If I remember right, it's out the west side of town, then down Nabiki Beach and up a set of stairs… but jeez," he remarked, weighing the basket, "this thing's pretty heavy. Wonder what's in it…?" He moved to take a peek inside, but Kate slapped his hand.

"Don't!" she snapped. "Ms. Audia said to not look inside! Whatever's in there could be dangerous!"

Keith grimaced, making a 'tch' noise. "Alright, alright," he huffed.

Kate glanced at the basket, suddenly blinking. "…Whatever's inside, though…" she said, "…it… smells really nice."

She kept staring at the basket. Then, as if in a trance, her hand started to move to it.

"Hey!" Keith slapped _her _hand, pulling back. "No looking inside! You said!"

Kate jumped, looking up. "S-sorry!" she squeaked. "J-just… i-it smells delicious…"

Keith rolled his eyes. "For Arceus' sake," he said, "you're a real glutton, y'know that? Always drooling at the mention of good food, and following any good scent…"

Kate pouted. "I-I am _not _a glutton!" she protested. Keith smirked.

"You are. If you weren't, why did you eat the cookie in your lunch first?" He pointed out.

"E-energy!" Kate insisted. "It was to give me _energy!_"

Keith laughed, giving only a "sure, sure" as they set off down the path out of town and towards the beach.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the pair was walking down Nabiki Beach. The small shoreline was mostly empty, save for a sappy, doting couple down by the ocean and an old man near the steps going up to Breeze Hill. Surrounding the old man were three Pokémon.

"Ah," Kate said, nudging Keith's arm, "Keith, look."

Glancing over, the two looked toward the Pokémon that were being fed by the old man. It was a cute, soft-looking Pachirisu that was crackling with electricity as it nibbled at a Pecha Berry, a Starly that was perched on the old man's shoulder as he fed it a Cheri Berry, and finally, a stout, hungry-looking Munchlax that was devouring Oran Berry after Oran Berry with no signs of stopping.

"Wow…" Keith said, blinking, "those are some pretty cute Pokémon."

The old man blinked at the remark, then looked up, smiling. "Ah, you two," he said, "are you two students?"

Kate smiled. "Yes!" she said happily. "We're students from Ranger Academy. We're here on a one-day internship."

"Is that so?" the man chuckled. "I've seen many a student come this way, but you two certainly look pluckier than the others."

Kate thanked the man eagerly whilst Keith muttered an uncertain 'thank you' in return, wondering what the hell 'plucky' meant. Gesturing to the Pokémon, the man went on to say, "Aren't these Pokémon cute? They're wild, but I tend to feed them here on occasion. Pachirisu, Starly, Munchlax, say…"

"…Hm?" The man blinked as he looked at where the Munchlax had been, only to find that the Pokémon wasn't there. "What in the…?"

"Mun. Mun_la._"

"Wh—!" Keith looked down in alarm to see the Munchlax pawing eagerly at his leg, reaching up and trying to grab the basket. "H-hey! What's your deal?! Quit grabbin' at me, this isn't a toy!" the boy yelled, jumping back.

"Ah! I'm sorry," the man said, chuckling, "that Munchlax is a curious one, he is."

"_Mun_la…" the Munchlax went on, drooling a bit as he reached up at the basket again. Keith, getting testy, nudged the Pokémon gently away with his foot.

"Quit it!" he snapped. "What, you think this is food?! It's not! It's a super secret tool for a super secret Mission! Jeez…"

Smiling sheepishly, Kate reached in her lunchbox. "Um… ah, here it is." She pulled out a sandwich, holding it out to the Munchlax. "Are you hungry?" Immediately, the Munchlax's eyes brightened tenfold, and it grabbed the sandwich happily.

"Munla, munch!" It cried as it gobbled up the sandwich in one fell swoop. Keith gaped in shock.

"That's… that's not natural," he said, looking rather put off by the display. He was now stroking the Starly, grinning as it cooed at his touch.

Kate, however, looked very cheerful. "Was it good?" she asked, bending down to the Munchlax's level. It nodded, looking delighted.

"Munchla! Lax mun!" it smiled. Kate smiled back.

"Cute…" she murmured, reaching out and stroking the Pokémon's head. "You're really cute!"

Keith goggled. "C—_cute?_" he spluttered. "That thing's about as cute as an angry Kincaid!"

Kate frowned as she looked at the redhead. "Keith," she scolded, "don't be rude." With that, she stood. "We really should get going, though."

Keith had been preoccupied with tickling the Pachirisu's neck. Finally, he looked up, and replied, "Yeah, you're right." He started to stand up. "Thanks for lettin' us pet the Pokémon, old man!"

The man smiled pleasantly. "It's no problem," he said. "You two kids be good."

"We will!" Kate called as the two walked up the stairs to Breeze Hill. Turning to Keith, she remarked, "that man was really nice, though."

"Yeah, I guess," Keith answered. Then, with a disapproving look, "You need a lesson on what's 'cute' and what's not, though."

Kate huffed. "That Munchlax was adorable!" she protested. Keith rolled his eyes, but then, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"…We're here," he muttered. Looking ahead, they saw a group at the peak of Breeze Hill.

In the group was a large, dark-skinned man with purple hair and a mustache, a young lady with short, dark brown hair and pale skin with near-black eyes, and Crawford, the Ranger they'd met before. They were all dressed in the same uniform Crawford had worn before: a white shirt with a red jacket and yellow cuffs, dark grey shorts with the same cuffs and flexible red and white shoes. Accompanying them was another woman, with warm auburn hair that was in multiple braids atop a red headband. She was dressed like the others, only with a tool belt strapped around her waist, a small first-aid kit strapped to the belt, and a wrench holster around one leg. She had shining green eyes that peered out from the black smudges on her skin. Next to the bulky man was a Makuhita, and next to the dark-haired girl, a Buneary. Of course, Crawford's trusty Budew was nestled in his hair. None of the group had seemed to notice them yet.

"…A-alright," Keith muttered to Kate, "j-just play it cool, alright? T-these are _real _Rangers… j-just let me take the lead." Kate nodded, gulping.

Clearing his throat, Keith stepped forward. Noticing the two, the whole group turned to look at them.

"…E-err," Keith stammered, "u-uh… h… h-he… _h-h-hellomeetcha!_"

A beat.

"…Did you just say 'hellomeetcha?'" the larger man said. "What, you nervous?" Keith gulped in response, shutting his mouth.

"Ha!" Crawford laughed heartily. "Kid's scared! Don't worry, kid, we don't bite… much."

The dark-haired girl frowned. "Crawford!" she chided. "Don't go scaring the cute little newbies!" the girl then looked at them. "Sorry about that," she apologized, "Crawford can be a big dummy sometimes." Ignoring the 'hey!' that arose, she smiled. "In any case, we should introduce ourselves!" She pointed to herself. "My name is Luana. I'm the newest Ranger—I signed on about two years ago. And this is my partner, Bonbon! Isn't she cute?"

Luana's Buneary smiled brightly. "Bun!" she cried happily.

Crossing his arms, the bulky man spoke up. "And I'm Barlow," he said. "I'm the Base Leader around these parts. This is my partner, Maddox." The Makuhita nodded solemnly in acknowledgement. Gesturing to the other two, he added, "You already know Crawford, of course—he's the senior Ranger. Been on the job around seven years."

Crawford grinned, winking. "Sup?" he greeted. Pointing at the Budew on his head, he added, "This is my partner, Bud." Finally, the raggedy looking woman stepped forward.

"And I'm Elaine," she said, smiling. "I'm the Mechanic around here."

"Although she likes taking things apart rather than putting them together," Barlow muttered. Elaine gave him a warning look.

"I've been on the job just as long as Barlow," she added. "It's nice to meet you guys."

Kate gulped a bit before nodding. "Y-yes!" she managed. "I-it's nice to meet you! U-um—I-I'm Kate Lovett, a-and this is m-my classmate, K-Keith Evans!"

Keith bowed slightly with her. "T-thanks to meet you!" He stammered, still tripping over his words.

Barlow laughed. "Still nervous!" he exclaimed. "Well, nevermind that." He made a large gesture of welcome, spreading his arms. "Welcome to the big Internship-welcoming lunch!" All the other Base members clapped—but the students just gaped.

"Er… t-thanks—wait," Keith choked, blinking rapidly, "what?"

Kate also looked confused. "E-excuse me," she said hesitantly, "b-but isn't this… a big mission? S-something about Bidoof…"

"That was a lie," Luana said bluntly, smile spread across her face.

"…_What?_" Keith blinked more. He held up the basket he'd been lugging around. "T-then this—?"

"Give it to me," Barlow said. Keith handed it over obediently, and Barlow set it down on a large picnic blanket in the middle of the field. Slowly, he opened the lid of the basket…

"…H-_huh?_"

The basket was filled to the brim—but not with weaponry, or some heroic item. No, it was filled with… _food. _Sandwiches galore, bottles filled with all sorts of beverages, chips, Berries, cookies; it was a buffet extravaganza. Kate and Keith's jaws dropped. "T-this… is…" Kate finally managed. Crawford grinned widely.

"The 'emergency' in question, of course," he said, "was the fact that we were starving in our wait for you!" He cackled, grabbing Keith and messing up his hair. "Welcome to your Internship, little buddies!"

"H-HEY!" Keith yelled, flailing around. "I-I'M NOT _LITTLE!_" Crawford just laughed more in response.

"S-so," Kate said uncertainly, "t-there's no emergency…?"

Elaine shook her head. "Nope," she smiled. "We faked it. It's become a tradition to do this to all the students that come here for their internship—Crawford started the whole idea once he joined up with the Base."

Crawford grinned wickedly as he released Keith. "You flatter me, Elaine," he said. "It's as she said—we do this every year, and it's always fun… well, most of the time. There _was _the incident three years ago…"

Luana went red. "I-I can't help that I'm clumsy!" she defended.

Barlow sighed. "She kept fumbling and dropping the box," he said, "so our lunch ended up a complete mess." Luana went redder at the mention, begging Barlow to be quiet.

"A-anyway!" she insisted, stepping forward. "Let's eat!"

"Y—" Kate and Keith both gulped before nodding hard. "Y-yes! Thank you for the food!"

The picnic, to say the least, was a blast. The food was amazing, and the whole meal was filled with fun and questions. Keith didn't stop his rapid-fire interrogation of Crawford and Barlow, while Kate enjoyed light chatter with Luana and Elaine. Bud, Buneary, and Maddox played amongst each other—well, in actuality, Bud and Buneary goofed around while Maddox quietly supervised them. "So, Katie," said Luana, "where do you want to work when you graduate? You'll be graduating a month after this, right?"

Kate blinked, taken by surprise. "Ah," she started, "w-well… there's a lot of the world I haven't seen… so anywhere would be fine, really."

Luana then looked at Keith. "And you, Keith?" she prodded. Keith glanced over at them.

"I don't really care that much…" he said vaguely, "I guess as long as I'm able to catch bad guys, it's cool."

Elaine then spoke up. "Why do you guys wanna be Rangers, anyway?" she inquired.

Kate smiled sheepishly. "I-I'm not really sure," she confessed. "E-err, I-I guess I just wanted a job where I can work together with Pokémon and have the opportunity to be active and see the world… and a Ranger seemed like the perfect option for that…"

Keith, on the other hand, shrugged. "Law enforcement kind of… runs in the family, I guess," he said. "I didn't really want to become a cop, though. So being a Ranger seemed like a better choice. It's a lot closer to Pokémon, and it's definitely a lot more interesting… and besides…" he paused for a moment.

"…I don't really… want to carry a gun," he added.

Barlow blinked. "A gun?" he remarked. "Most towns don't bother issuing guns to their police forces—Pokémon firepower is usually more than enough. Where are you from?"

Keith looked up. "Ah… I'm from Castelia City," he said. "Unova."

Crawford looked impressed. "Wow," he commented, "Castelia, huh? That place is pretty wild. Hustle-and-bustle central, from what I hear."

"I-I just realized that I never asked where you're from, Keith!" Kate said, chiding herself. "So, you're from the big city?"

The redhead nodded. "Yeah," he said, "Castelia's pretty much that."

"I see…" Kate smiled brightly. "It makes sense! Keith, you really do seem like the sort of person from a big city."

"Wh—" Keith blinked, but looked away when he felt his cheeks flush. "Q-quit saying weird stuff like that! W-what the hell do you mean, 'the sort of person?' For the love of…"

Crawford blinked a bit, but then suddenly grinned deviously as he analyzed the look on Keith's face. Luana blinked in confusion, while Elaine just chuckled and Barlow cleared his throat awkwardly. Just then, though—

"H-HELP! RANGERS, HEEEELP!"

Everyone in the group looked up in alarm to see a young man dashing towards them at full speed. "H-help!" he cried. "M-my girlfriend—d-down at the beach—!"

Barlow stood up, perfectly serious. "What's the situation?" he asked. "Take a deep breath and tell us."

The man did as he was told, taking a deep breath before going on to say, "D-down at the beach… t-the Pokémon just suddenly went berserk! T-they've surrounded my girlfriend a-and I'm worried they're going to a-attack!"

Barlow nodded. "Alright," he said, "I think we get the gist of it." He looked at the rest of the group. "Everyone!" he barked. "We're cutting off lunch early! It's go time, people!"

Immediately, the Vientown crew stood. "Right!" said Crawford and Luana while Elaine simply nodded. Kate and Keith also stood, looking uncertain.

"W-what should we do?" Kate asked.

Barlow looked at them. "You two should also come," he said. "You've learned all your Capturing basics, right? Time to show us what you know!"

The two gaped for a moment before nodding. "R-right!" they said together. Panicking a bit and not getting the common sense to just drop her cookie, Kate shoved it into her pocket. With that, the whole group ran down the stairs to the beach.

Down at the beach, the group saw exactly what had been described—and maybe more.

Surrounding a young woman were a pair of Shellos and the trio of Pokémon that had been with the old man. They were growling as they circled her, but the movements were strange. They moved carefully, methodically, _robotically. _It was as if they were in some kind of trance.

"H-help!" The woman was screaming fearfully.

"Alright, move out!" Barlow commanded. "Crawford and I will take the Shellos! Luana, you take one of Mr. Woodward's Pokémon! Lovett, Evans, you do the same!"

All shouting that they understood, the Rangers and students ran down the stairs to the beach. Just as Kate was moving on, though, someone called, "M-Miss Student!"

"Huh?" Kate turned around to see the old man behind her. "A-ah—" she managed to recall his name from Barlow's orders. "Mr. Woodward… right?"

The man nodded. "That's right," he said. He looked frantic and worried. "P-please… help Starly, Pachirisu and Munchlax. They wouldn't hurt a soul—they're such good Pokémon, really!"

Kate stared for a bit, then looked over at the Pokémon—specifically, Munchlax. Gone was the playful, cheery look in its eyes, replaced instead with robotic hatred and hostility. It was bewildering… why had all the Pokémon suddenly turned? The brunette looked back at Mr. Woodward, a determined gleam in her eye.

"Don't worry, sir," she said firmly, "we'll definitely get your Pokémon back to normal!"

Running down the stairs to the beach where the scene was, she saw that while Barlow and Crawford were already finishing their Shellos captures, Luana and Keith were panicking. "O-oh no," Luana said, "w-who am I supposed to help first? S-Starly? Pachirisu? M-Munchlax?!"

Keith looked equally jittery. "I-if Luana can't decide, I can't either!" He exclaimed. "Hurry up! Just pick one—"

"CAPTURE ON!"

"Wha—" Keith jumped a bit as Kate shouted, activating her Styler and proceeding to Capture the Munchlax. Blinking for a moment, he quickly recovered. "Munchlax, huh?!" He commented. "Well, I've been working at capturing the Flying-types at school, so—CAPTURE ON!" He shot the Capture Disc at the Starly, proceeding with the loops around it.

"T-then, that leaves—" said Luana as she held up her Styler. "CAPTURE ON!" Going for the Pachirisu, all three Pokémon were now being Captured. It didn't take long—in about ten or fifteen minutes, all the Pokémon were in custody and away from the (now fairly terrified) young woman, who ran into her boyfriend's arms.

Kate rushed up to the Munchlax as soon as it was Captured, kneeling to its level. "A-are you ok?" she asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"

The Munchlax looked dazed, but otherwise unharmed. It shook its head a little before looking up at Kate. "…Mun…" it broke out into a huge grin. "_Mun_la!" Jumping on Kate in a hug, Kate blinked a bit before laughing and hugging it back happily.

"I'm so glad," she said thankfully, "I-I'm so glad you're ok… ah, that's right!" She reached into her pocket. "U-um, you've been through a lot, and… I'm sorry; this must be a bit squished…"

She took out the cookie she'd been keeping in her pocket.

"…Here," she said, smiling. "For you."

The Munchlax looked up with glittering eyes. "Mun_la _mun!" It cried, taking the cookie and gobbling it down eagerly. Kate giggled at the sight.

"Ok, everyone!" Barlow called. "Good work! Elaine's reported that there are no injuries to anyone, so let's release the Pokémon!"

"Right!" Everyone shouted back.

Keith was all smiles as he pumped a fist. "ALRIGHT!" He roared in triumph, doing a backflip across the sand. "A _real _Mission! And we seriously pulled it off! Isn't this awesome, Kate?!"

Keith looked over at Kate, who wasn't responding. Instead she was looking down at the Munchlax, hesitating.

"…Kate?" Keith repeated, walking over. "What's up?" Kate didn't look away from the Munchlax, and vice versa.

"…Ah," she said, stroking the Munchlax's head. "I-it's nothing… just…"

Barlow walked over. "…Looks like you've formed quite a special bond with that Pokémon there…" He sighed. "…It's a shame you're too early. Students aren't permitted to have Partner Pokémon. I'm afraid you'll have to release him."

Kate looked back at the Munchlax, and it back at her. Lip quivering a bit, she finally sighed. "…Yes, sir." Slowly taking out her Styler, she glanced at the Munchlax one last time before sighing and hitting the "Release" option.

The Munchlax gave one last sad look at Kate, but then ran back to Mr. Woodward and the other two Pokémon, who had already been released.

Kate stared at the Munchlax until he disappeared, then looked down at her feet. Keith slowly patted her shoulder.

"…Sorry," he mumbled. "I mean, that thing isn't friggin' cute at all, but… you must have liked it, huh?" Kate nodded quietly in response.

"Alright!" Barlow shouted, clearing his throat. "Good work, everybody—now let's pick up our lunch and head back to Base!"

* * *

Back at the Vientown Ranger Base, Kate and Keith were preparing to depart for the Academy. Barlow stood in front of them with crossed arms.

"You two did very well today," he said. "It's obvious you both have your own strengths, and that you certainly aren't letting your training go to waste. Good job, both of you!"

"Thank you all so much!" Keith said fervently. "I'll never forget what I learned here today. Ever! Right, Kate?"

Kate blinked, as if being brought out of a trance. Then she looked up, forcing a smile. "Y-yeah," she said. "It was a lot of fun. And we learned so much!"

Luana was beaming. "Oh, I hope you two get assigned here!" she prayed. "It would be so much fun—and we have a shortage of Rangers in the first place!" She sighed. "We need to start applying to get a new Operator, too… Audia's taking a leave soon, and even when she comes back, she won't be on full duty."

Kate stared. "Leave?" she asked. "W-why? Is something wrong?"

Audia, the purple-haired Operator, smiled. "Oh, no," she assured, "quite the opposite…" She walked out from behind the counter to show the rest of her body—specifically, her stomach, which was bulging out like a blown-up balloon.

"WHOA!" Keith shouted, jumping back in alarm. "Y… y-you're… t-that's a… u-uh, a…"

"Baby," Audia clarified, smiling more. "I'm nine months along. I'll need to take maternity leave when the baby arrives to recover and get used to being a mom, and after that, I'll need someone to cover shifts so I can care for it."

"W-wow…!" Kate marveled. "W-will it be a boy? O-or a girl?"

Audia smiled. "We don't know yet. I want to keep it a surprise."

Keith coughed a bit. "Actually," he said, "we have another friend who's training to be an Operator. Her name's Rhythmi Blythe."

"Ah, little blondie from the Outdoors Class I had to bail on?" Crawford grinned. "Yeah, things would get lively if she was placed in our little Base!"

Kate smiled. "Thank you so much for everything," she said gratefully. "We really appreciate it!"

"No problem," Barlow said. "You kids be safe, now, y'hear?"

"Yes, sir!" The two gave one last wave goodbye as they exited the Base. Just as they were turned to exit however—

"BARLOW!"

An old man (although admittedly springy for his age) barged into the Base. He was in a white lab coat, bowler hat, and formal pants and loafers. He carried a cane, and his hair was snow white, with a matching beard-mustache combo.

Barlow blinked. "Ah, Professor Hastings," he said. "Finished with your students at the Union?"

"Oh, yes," the man, Hastings, said. "They were all quite bright. They brought a mere child, though, a little girl—not quite sure why, but I didn't question it." He glanced at Kate and Keith. "Ah—and these are your students, Barlow?"

"Yep," the Leader answered, "meet Kate Lovett and Keith Evans. They were just leaving. Lovett, Evans; this is Professor Hastings from the Union. You know him, right?"

Kate gaped in shock, but Keith just stared blankly. "Who?" he asked.

"K-Keith!" Kate squeaked. "D-don't you remember from our history class? P-Professor Hastings is the man who invented the Styler! H-he's the top inventor of Ranger technology!"

Keith jumped. "Wh—s-seriously?! T-this old guy?!"

Hastings looked aghast. "Excuse me, young man," he said, "but I'll have you know that I'm as spiff and spry as I was back when I was your age!"

Keith gulped. "S-sorry, sir—professor—s-sir."

Kate spoke up. "U-um, sir!" she said. "D-did you happen to meet our friend at the Union? S-she's got blonde curly hair, a-and wants to be an Operator…"

Hastings blinked. "Ah, yes… she was eager, that one," he mused. "What was her name… ah, yes! I do believe it was _Misery!_"

A beat.

…

"W-well," Kate said quickly, muffling Keith's shrieks of laughter with her hand as she pulled him out, "t-thank you so much, b-but we really should get going! G-goodbye!"

Hastings blinked as the students left, Crawford cracking up next to him.

Kate sighed as she dragged Keith far outside the Base. "J-jeez," she panted, "i-is it really that funny?"

"It is," Keith managed to wheeze out between giggles, "it is, and you _know _it."

Kate smiled briefly, but quickly composed herself. "D-don't tease Rhyth about it, ok? I can only imagine how she'd feel if—"

"MUNLA!"

Kate's blinked, but her eyes widened as she turned and saw none other than the Munchlax from the beach smiling at her as it ran over. "I-it's you!" she said, her face lighting up. "You followed me back here?!"

"Lax," the Munchlax responded, looking rather pleased with himself. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's great that this guy found his way back to you," he remarked, "but we can't bring Pokémon from outside into the Acade—"

"W-we can just take him with us until we reach the gates!" Kate blurted. Hugging the Munchlax, she added, "…P-please?"

_Dammit. _

Keith gulped as he saw the glittering blue orbs that were Kate's eyes plead with him. _'Say no,' _he thought to himself strictly. _'We could get in trouble for bringing a Pokémon outside its habitat. Just… just say…'_

"Sure, I guess we can bring him up to the gates," he said, wanting to beat himself with a hammer as soon as the words passed his lips.

Kate smiled brightly. "G-great!" she exclaimed. "T-that's great! T-thank you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah," Keith grumbled. "Let's just go."

* * *

"Hell_o!_" A cheery, familiar voice came from behind. "I'm home, Wannabe Rangers!"

Kate and Keith looked up from their chess game to see Rhythmi approaching. After leaving the Munchlax at the gates in a slightly tearful parting, the two had retreated up to the common room, where Keith had suggested the board game to lift Kate's spirits. "Ah!" Kate smiled. "Welcome back, Rhythmi?"

"How was Nerd Central?" Keith asked, not taking his eyes off the board as he tried to decide which piece to move.

"Absolutely _lov_ely," Rhythmi sighed happily. "I learned a bunch, and it was a lot of fun… I do wish Professor Hastings hadn't kept calling me…" she trailed off, hesitating.

"…Misery?" Keith suggested, grinning wickedly. Rhythmi jumped, her face going red.

"H-how did you—?!" she spluttered. Kate smiled sheepishly.

"We happened to run into him as we were leaving," she said, shooting a warning look at Keith that clearly said 'don't tease her.' Keith stuck out his tongue in response.

Rhythmi sighed as she sat down at the small table. "So," she asked glumly as she looked at the chess board, "who's winning?"

"Me," both Kate and Keith responded simultaneously. Rhythmi groaned, flopping her head back.

"Ok, better question," she offered, "how was the internship on your end? Anything interesting happen?"

"Sorry, can't tell," Keith said cheerfully. "It was a super secret Mission. Can't give out any details. Ah, but Kate made a creepy little friend."

Kate huffed. "He isn't creepy!" she protested. "He's cute!" Keith rolled his eyes in response.

Rhythmi blinked. "A Pokémon?" she asked. "What kind? What happened to it?"

"He was a Munchlax," Keith went on, "and he hung with us until the gates, but then we left him behind."

"I see…" Rhythmi looked at Kate sorrowfully. "Oh, I'm sorry, hun. It must suck to have to leave a new friend behind like that."

"H-huh?!" Kate jumped, gulping. "O-oh… y-yeah, I-I s-suppose it does… b-but who knows?" she laughed, tittering nervously. "M-maybe w-we'll meet again someday…" Keith blinked, looking at her. She was much less… depressed-looking now. In fact, she seemed… nervous? Like she was hiding something?

He decided to inquire. "Kate," he said warily, "are you—?"

"Kate! Keith!"

Keith's question was cut off by the sound of Ms. April approaching. When she reached them, she was all smiles. "Did everyone have fun at the Internship?" she asked. All three nodded, chattering about how much they'd enjoyed it.

"Was there something you wanted, Ms. April?" Kate asked. Ms. April smiled more.

"Ah, well…" she said, "I just wanted to say that I heard about how you rescued Little Tim today. He told me all about it. And he even mentioned that you two didn't compete or panic—you took in the situation and dealt with it, working together." She beamed. "You two will be graduating in a month… and I'm very proud. You've grown and learned so much, and you can only do more after you graduate."

Kate blinked. "Ms. April…" she murmured. Then she smiled. "Thank you… t-thank you so much!"

Ms. April nodded. "That's all I wanted to say," she said. "Have a nice night, everyone. More classes start tomorrow." She turned, and started back down the hall to the teacher dorms.

Once she was gone, Keith grinned. "Well, I was perfect to begin with," he bragged, "it's just that Kate's able to at least work together with me without being overshadowed too much."

"Yes, yes, I get it," Kate assured as she picked up a chess piece. "And by the way…" She smiled as she cornered his king. "…Checkmate."


End file.
